About that big, beautiful flying palace

The royal family of Qatar, owner of one of the largest private jet fleets in the world, has been quietly getting rid of some of its biggest planes. It may have found the perfect taker for one of its Boeing 747 jumbo jets in President Donald Trump.

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But while many have speculated that the Qataris have offered Trump the luxurious plane to curry favor with the famously transactional president, there may be a simpler rationale: they just don’t want it anymore.

The royals have failed to sell the plane, which was put on the market in 2020. [...] Giving it away could save Qatar’s rulers a big chunk of change on maintenance and storage costs.

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Qatar, which has given away another blinged-out 747 and may have mothballed two more, epitomizes the fading demand for these huge, fuel-guzzling, highly personalised airplanes. There aren’t many who want to buy them, and many of the governments and royal families who own them have been trying to ditch them over the past decade.

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[T]he 747 coveted by Trump, which was given the tail number A7-HBJ, the initials of billionaire Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, who served as prime minister of Qatar from 2007 to 2013.

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Unlike the passenger version of the 747-8, which can seat 467 people, the HBJ jet is a flying mansion designed for just 89 passengers, with two bedrooms, entertainment and meeting rooms.

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As of 2019, the VIP version of the 747-8 cost an eye-popping $23,000 an hour to operate.

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“Qatar, like many modern states, is shifting toward leaner, more versatile aircraft, which offer better economics and more discreet presence for official travel,” Linus Bauer, managing director of Dubai-based Bauer Aviation Advisory, told Forbes. Giving the plane to Trump would be “a creative disposal strategy” that marks “a farewell to a bygone model of geopolitical theater in the skies.”

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Beyond poor fuel efficiency, large ostentatious planes are a security risk, notes Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace consultant with Aerodynamic Advisory. “These things are big targets.” And bigger planes can only land on longer runways, limiting their usage. “There are a lot more airports you can get into if you have a narrowbody, and many more still if you have a traditional business jet,” he said.

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The massive, highly customized planes, with idiosyncratic interior decorating, are not easy to sell. “The market is incredibly illiquid for a jet like this,” said Aboulafia.

The poster child is a lavish 747-8 commissioned for Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud before his death in 2011. It was scrapped for parts in 2022 with just 42 hours of flight time.

The active Saudi royal 747 fleet is down to one, with two listed as mothballed in the last three years. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is using smaller aircraft like the Boeing 737 and 787-8.

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Giving the 747-8 to the U.S. would also allow the Qataris to avoid maintenance costs that are only getting higher with the 747 fleet shrinking worldwide and fewer mechanics available who know how to work on them, said John Goglia, a former airline mechanic and member of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. The 2020 sales brochure noted that the plane was due for a landing gear overhaul in 2024 and a 12-year check in 2027. A check in which the airplane and engines are taken apart, typically carried out every six to 12 years, can take months to complete and cost millions of dollars. “The numbers are staggering,” said Goglia.

  Forbes

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