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On 15th
April 13 the first determined VIP A340-542 (9K-GBA) for the State of
Kuwait left San Antonio, Texas to be handed over to the Kuwaiti
government. 9K-GBA (former F-WJKH) was based for almost three years in
San Antonio, Texas in order to obtain, among other work, a completely
new VIP cabin interior.
Worldwide, there are just a few companies that are able to do such a
complex conversion, such as Jet Aviation, AMAC Aerospace, Lufthansa
Technique and of course Gore Design Completion Ltd. in Lackland, San
Antonio, Texas where the aircraft spend the last few years. Gore Design
Completion Ltd. in cooperation with Airbus Industries is well known for
its high standard of quality during the conversion of exclusive VIP
jets. Most man work is still done by hand and only the best materials
are used. Not surprising that CORE Design collaborates with the most
prestigious companies such as Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, and Cessna.
Currently, about a dozen aircraft are in the hands of CORE Design to be
converted into luxury VIP aircraft. The two A340-542 of the State of
Kuwait had originally been delivered to the Nigerian Airline ARIK Wings
of Nigeria (CS-TFW & CS-TFX) in 2008/09. After only a brief stint with
ARIK the aircrafts were sold to Kuwait Airways.
Although
the Kuwaiti government operates his own fleet of VIP aircraft, the
9K-GBA & 9K-GBB were put into the fleet of of Kuwait Airways.
There they are, of course, used only by the government and the family of
the Emir of Kuwait. After the delivery of 9K-GBA, the second aircraft
9K-GBB is still in San Antonio, where the expansion/conversion is in
full swing. The delivery to the customer will probably take several
months. We look forward to see the 9K-GBB when it is sighted somewhere
in Europe. |
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On their
delivery flight to the customer on 16th April 2013 the A340-542, F-WJKH
(9K-GBA) had a stopover in Toulouse (F) for further transfer formalities. (Picture courtesy
collection Andreas Herzog)
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State of Kuwait
A340-542, F-WJKH (9K-GBA), just before take-off at San Antonio for another
test flight in February 2012. (Picture courtesy collection Andreas Herzog) |
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