With the launch of its Duncan Design Collection refurbishment portfolio, Duncan Aviation (Booth 10212) has taken the next logical step in evolving the pre-engineered modular completions techniques introduced at last year's NBAA.
The Collection is largely that—a compilation of the various tried and true interior and exterior design modifications customers have asked for over the years; the only difference is that Duncan's experts have packaged the various upgrades into cost-efficient one-stop shopping completion portfolio with variations that come in threes—. for example, three choices of seat materials, three versions of interior trim, and a choice of three exterior paint schemes.
"We've found out that the market is shifting to a focus on value, maintainability and longevity in the post-Enron days," says John Slieter, completions marketing vp for Duncan. While customers still want a high-end completion—and one in ten will probably continue to pay for total customizations—Slieter says most operators are finding that they don't want the business jet to "stand out and look like a corporate perk."
The trick for Duncan's designers was to create packages that were eloquent yet economic and practical. What they came up with was a portfolio of three leading designs for each make and model of aircraft with which Duncan has refurbishment experience: Falcon 50 and 900, Learjets, Citations and Astras. As opposed to from-scratch custom designs, Slieter says costs for the Design Collection refurbishments may come in as much as "half of what people were paying for five years ago." To minimize down time, Slieter says the "soft goods" with each design are selected such that supply lead times are the same as shop lead times—30 to 60 days.
