Edsel Ford II, the chairman and owner of Pentastar Aviation, talks with employees and others inside the new interior design studio.
Aiming to tap into what appears to be growing demand for upgrading aircraft interiors, Pentastar Aviation opened an aircraft interior design center today at Oakland County International Airport in Waterford.
The studio, which is inside an airplane hangar, lets private and commercial jet owners fly in from around the globe to the airport, step off the plane and walk into the center to custom design how they want their planes to look and feel — down to the swatches of fabrics that go on the seats to the number and size of the TV screens in the cabin.
“With the opening of this studio, our clients can meet our experts and touch and feel the high-quality materials we use to bring aircraft cabin visions to life,” Pentastar’s owner and chairman Edsel Ford II said. “The aviation industry is being pushed forward by innovators, those who confront problems — engineering or aesthetic — and instead of shying away, they work harder and smarter than anyone else to find solutions.”
The new studio opening reflects the confidence Pentastar has in what appears to be a rebounding economy, while also giving folks a tiny peek into the lifestyle of folks wealthy enough to travel by private jet, or as some jet owners prefer to call it, their “office in the sky.”
Pentastar, which started in 1964 as Chrysler Air Transportation, expanded into aircraft interiors a little more than two years ago when it acquired Aircraft Interior Services from Gordon Ross, who is now the company’s director of interiors. Chrysler sold it to Ford, a well-known aviation buff, in 2001. It provides domestic and international private charter flights, as well as avionics and maintenance.
The company also is betting on industry predictions that as corporate and private jet spending increases, it likely will be directed more at refurbishing and upgrading older planes — which can cost between several thousand dollars and a few million — than buying brand-new ones.
The custom interior produced by Pentastar Aviation.
Global forecast for aircraft interior modification services, the company said, are expected to reach $17 billion by 2019.
Ross said Pentastar generally does about three or four major refurbishments a year, and dozens of smaller upgrades.
But, the company hopes to increase that number and along with it, add a few jobs.
Since the recession, fewer people are flying private jets, and corporations have become much more focused on cost cutting, while still trying to offer high-powered, jet-setting executives the convenience and comfort that comes with having a plane at their disposal. Some even think about what colors will be appealing if the plane is ever resold, Ross said.
“It’s not like it used to be,” he said. “Our attention is to re-purpose and extend the life of aircraft in a more cost-conscious way.”
Still, Ross acknowledged that private jets are a luxury that most people can’t afford, and even with an upgrade — rather than a new plane — the results be lavish, and sometimes, personal to what the plane owner or executive wants.
Seatbelt buckles in various colors are on display for customers to choose.
In one jet, which was from Hong Kong, the interior design called for color tones so light he said it was like having “white carpet at home,” something that that you would “not want to let kids run around in.” In another, which belonged to the owner of a pro football team, the company installed a custom-made lift for a 42-inch TV — the biggest one that would fit — so he could watch games.
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