Members of the elite private jet set are customizing their planes with full-sized showers, beds and windows - but when it comes to decorating, an increasing number are steering clear of gold panels and gaudy features, opting instead for the airborne equivalent of beige.
The reason, industry executives said at a convention in Las Vegas this week, is fear of getting stuck with a highly personalized aircraft that will not fetch a good price in today's competitive market for used business jets.
To win sales, planemakers like Brazil's Embraer SA offer interchangeable seats and arm rests to make the planes easier to resell, but still have original design options for their elite clients with names like Sky Ranch and Kyoto Airship.
"If you make it Moulin-Rouge on the interior it's going to be a (multimillion-dollar) refurb in the aftermarket, so that's a problem," said Jay Beever, an Embraer vice president for interior designs, referring to the historic Paris cabaret.
The low prices of used aircraft have limited demand for new jets, forecasters said. Deliveries of new planes are seen staying flat until 2019, even though profits on the S&P 500 have grown at a double-digit rate over the last two quarters.
"We see that customers are going towards a more simplified esthetic when specifying their business jets because they are becoming savvy with respect to the residual or resale value of their aircraft," said Anna Cristofaro, a spokeswoman for Bombardier Inc business aircraft.
Financiers have a strong preference for generic aircraft without highly configured interiors or garish color schemes because they are easier to resell in the case of default, said Paul Sykes, director of FlyFunder, an online site dedicated to aircraft finance.
Ken Hill, chief executive of California-based Business Aircraft Sales Corp, which repossesses aircraft for banks, recalled how he once seized an all-black Cessna plane for a client that had to be repainted for about $65,000 before it could be sold.
While the market has taken a conservative turn, private jet company executives said there remains an elite cadre of wealthy customers who want it all --queen-sized beds, showers and, in one case, a holographic projection system.
Bedrooms are popular on Bombardier's long-range Global 7000 jet, which lists for almost $73 million and is sold out until 2021.