Howard was asked this question by Quora – with 12,000 views, apparently it’s on a lot of people minds!
Howard Freidman, Managing Director at BluechipJets.com
Some 2018 info:
- There are no private A380s — the one for Prince______ that always pops up in this question was cancelled by Airbus. Several retired airliners have been purchased for VIP conversion so there will be soon.
- The 5X might be the most expensive jet if you count the test-bed— it was cancelled last December (then again, plenty of aircraft have been cancelled pre-production).
- But it wasn’t close to the most expensive—even in Dassault’s line. That would be the $60MM 8X:
- The Bombardier Global 8000—if it’s launched—will nominally be the most expensive at $73MM. But you can get a G650ER up to that price too (we looked at a G550 with every box on the option list checked where the first stop after delivery was $5MM worth of added customization).
As always, the sky is the limit on a private jet. Used airliners are cheap, so even a massive a340 (which sell for just above scrap levels) turned into a flying yacht is far less than these jets. We recently priced a VIP conversion at $25MM all in including the aircraft. I’m sure you could find a way to spend >$73MM on a a380 conversion.