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The monstrous aeroplane that shook the sky and brought a mob of Kelowna residents to the tarmac will be sold to CSDS Aircraft Sales and Licensing, a U.S. company based out of California.
CSDS purchased the special performance jet from the Qatar royal family for a discounted $5 million - $13 million under the asking price - because the hanger the plane was housed in was up for sale.
“It’s a unique plane, that’s for sure,” said Benedict Sirimanne, President of CSDS, noting that less than 10 of the 45 planes manufactured are still in operation.
“It certainly made a splash in Kelowna,” Sirimanne laughed.
The BOEING 747SP landed the in Kelowna on May 18 and was parked inside a KF aerospace hangar for safekeeping under the watchful eye of Paula Quinn, Corporate Secretary at KF Aerospace.
"KF Aerospace has been one of our business partners for a long time and obviously this is a prestigious aeroplane, so we didn't want to take it to the typical places in the desert,” said Sirimanne.
“We want to take it somewhere it is going to get the attention it needs especially on the maintenance side - and we know KF Aerospace does great work."
The plane will remain in Kelowna for about two months, Sirimanne estimates, receiving light maintenance work, interior refinement, a paint job and some luxurious upgrades to the big bird.
Afterwards, the plane will most likely soar into the U.S. but Sirimanne is not sure of what the long-term plan is.
"We have several options on the aircraft right now, the main one is we have an offer to lease the airplane to a non-profit . . . but you never know, we're in the airplane business, so, whatever the market opportunity [is]."
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