When you look at photographs of the inside of a private jet cabin, they all seem to be somewhat formulaic. Airbus Corporate Jets (AJC) must feel the same way, too, as they decided to engaged the talents of contemporary artist Cyril Kongo, a.k.a. Mr Colorful, and the final result will be something leaps and bounds from the corporate norm.
Contemporary art and private jet travel tenuously fall within the same realm, i.e. they are products/services that appeal to a specific demographic. However, it’s incredibly rare to hear of the two being merged together.
Thanks to a joint design venture between AJC and contemporary artist Cyril Kongo (right), this is all about to change.
To be frank, I have never sat in a private jet, let alone travelled in one. However, over the years, I have written countless articles on them, studying photo’s and they all seem to pretty much look the same inside. That’s not a bad thing; it is said that when you find a winning formula in business, you should stick with it. To coin a phrase, “Why re-invent the wheel?”
AJC’s idea was to turn an extra-large biz-jet into something akin to a flying contemporary art gallery, and Cyril Kongo was the ideal artist to help the AJC team to achieve their goal. Thinking back through all the private jet articles and guides I’ve worked on, I can’t recall another renowned artist being invited to take part in designing a jet’s interior. Similar things have been done with motor vehicles, such as Sir Peter Blake and Bentley Motors, but I draw a blank when it comes to luxury air travel.
Any collaborative project like this is always a smart business move. In this case, the jet offers something different which will make it an attractive proposition for discerning travellers. Secondly, it’s an excellent opportunity for a company to generate free publicity and garner some headlines as it gives the news/media industry a reason to write about them.
Inside the jet
The goal of the AJC design team was to create a space that delivers comfort, functionality and connectivity all via a single space, and Cyril Kongo’s task was to introduce colour and emotion into the project.
The primary focus will be on the main lounge, where Cyril Kongo will be hand painting areas and introducing carefully chosen branded textures and fabrics to produce a sumptuous, comfortable space with the feeling of being in a private art gallery.
The ACJ TwoTwenty special cabin edition by Cyril Kongo allows passengers to engage in fine dining, get some proper rest and enjoy the colours life has to offer. Cyril Kongo and the AJC design team made sure they took full advantage of the aircraft’s large fuselage, which is apparently twice as wide as other comparable business jets. The space is large enough to host a crafted table that is said to cater to eight guests at a time.
One of the main reasons why the AJC TwoTwenty was chosen for the Cyril Kongo collaboration is its large internal space. The jet has 73m2/785 ft2 of floor space and is the only business jet to offer six large VIP living areas which can host up to nineteen passengers. It also has a true intercontinental range capable of flying up to 5,650nm / 10,500km (over 12 hours flight time) with a price that sits just below the Ultra Long Range (ULR) business jet aircraft.
The AJC TwoTwenty jet first appeared on the radar in late 2020, and since then, the company has already secured orders for six aircraft. Comllux will be the exclusive completion partner for the first 15 aircraft. They will take delivery of the ACJ TwoTwenty this winter, with the first aircraft expected to enter service in early 2023.
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The jet interior images used in this article ar (C) Airbus S.A.S 2021.
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