Retired Boeing 747s are getting reborn as luxury business private jets for billionaires

BBJ (Boeing Business Jet) is on a mission to repurpose old Boeing 747 aircraft and turn them into private jets.

The idea is to find old 747s that are no longer in use and bring them back to life as private aircraft.

There are two reasons why they’re doing this.

And one is kind of sentimental.

The idea behind the 747 Turnkey program

Boeing calls it the ‘747 Turnkey’ program.

The idea is to locate and acquire commercial 747s for clients, and turn them into private jets.

Most 747s are still in good condition, even if they’ve been inactive for a while, which makes restoring and refurbishing them possible.

Not easy or cheap, but possible.

The 747-8 has a nautical range of 8,875 nautical miles, which means you can fly from nearly any point A to any point B in the world without refueling.

For example, you can fly from LA to Dubai or from Sydney to New York.

With 5,179 square feet of usable space, a 747-8 can accommodate up to 75 passengers when configured as a business jet.

The likely reasons why Boeing is doing this

In theory, Boeing can turn any Boeing airliner into a private jet with the Boeing Business Jet program.

But in practice, most private 747s are in the hands of country leaders.

The iconic Air Force One, for example, is a 747.

And the presidential jet that the US President recently received as a gift from Qatar is also a Boeing 747.

The thing is, the rich are getting richer, which means there’s now a broader pool of potential customers for these massive jets.

And those customers need to be rich, because the 747 Turnkey program isn’t cheap.

You need around $367 million to buy the jet, and then about $50 million for the interior overhaul.

Hourly operating costs are about $23,000 per hour.

The second reason is more sentimental.

The 747 is probably the most beloved airliner ever made (along with Concorde), but it is no longer in production.

That’s probably why Boeing wants to keep old ones in good condition alive by giving them a new life as private jets.

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie