Hamilton Jet

[Savoia]

Formula 1 star buys 500mph private jet to keep his long-distance romance with Nicole alive... and it even has personalised 'number plate'

(Oh dear!)

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/02/02/article-2272458-174EF251000005DC-238_634x338.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/02/02/article-2272458-17341277000005DC-517_634x482.jpg

Lewis Hamilton buys a £20m plane keep long-distance romance alive with Nicole Scherzinger | Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2272458/Lewis-Hamilton-buys-20m-plane-long-distance-romance-alive-Nicole-Scherzinger.html#axzz2JjOGsplh)

[Badger3434]

As someone not entirely used to buying my own plane, do these sort of people really 'buy' their own jets? Or are the fractional or just rented by the hour? Do they really fork out 20 million whatevers ( + operating costs)just to occassionally whip over to LA for a bit of leg-over?

Can someone enlighten?

[CEQforever]

An aircraft like that would be financed by a bank, and the owner pays the monthly finance costs plus operating costs; and as it's on an AOC it will probably be chartered out when he isn't using it, to cross-subsidise the costs a little bit.

[PURPLE PITOT]

Registered owner is TAG aviation uk at FAB.

[Globally Challenged]

The Tax & finance arrangements on these aircraft are complex and you will rarely see the name of the private owner on the register - it is more likely to see a holding company which can operate as an umbrella for charter work and also the owner can then also pay an hourly rate to the holding company which is efficient for tax purposes (i.e. treating it as a business expense).

I can't imagine anyone has ever actually profited from such arrangements as far as chartering out on an AOC is concerned though - it may just go some way to offsetting a little of the cost and make the holding company seem more viable to HMRC

[FCS_TEST]

Would have guessed that somebody so acute about perf. Would definetly bought something elses that a challenger !!!

[PURPLE PITOT]

GC that was my point, not usually registered to the owner or operator. C of R would indicate that it belongs to TAG UK not a holding company?

[cldrvr]

GC that was my point, not usually registered to the owner or operator. C of R
would indicate that it belongs to TAG UK not a holding company?


C of R has nothing to do with the owner, that is in the name of the operating company to ease billing, VAT etc. form 1577 will be the first clue of the ultimate owner and lien holder if there is one.

[Dg800]

Not even egomaniacal Hollywood stars (http://it.flightaware.com/resources/registration/N707JT) actually register their aircraft in their own name. Besides the possible tax advantages, who would want to be held personally liable in case of an accident? :} Much better to have one layer (or two, or even three...) between you and any possible lawsuit.

Ciao,

Dg800

[Globally Challenged]

Tag used to own a few of their own aircraft but I don't think they do any more.

[PURPLE PITOT]

Again, my point.Been a while since i have flown a g tail, but even then it was always the holding co name on the C of R. tax rules change regularly of course!

[cldrvr]

Am not sure what the brief was, but on the face of it he seems to have bought the wrong airplane for the kind of trips he seems to be doing. Ah well, a consultant made a pretty penny selling him something he wanted to sell instead of something the client needed.

[Booglebox]

cldrvr has it spot on.
1. TAG client bails on delivery slot (or perhaps Bombardier flogged it to them cheap)
2. Hamilton, while TBNB, understandably not knowledgeable about bizjets
3. Jazzy paint scheme combined with persuasive selling techniques
4. Charge exorbitant hourly cost
5. ?????????
6. PROFIT!

Will probably get flamed for saying this (not entirely undeservedly) but VistaJet might actually be an option for this guy.... at least he can choose the appropriate bombardier product for his mission (learjet for european races, global for squeeze in LA, etc).
Otherwise, as has already been pointed out, a 7X would have fit his profile quite well.

[PURPLE PITOT]

Now that makes more sense!

[Deep and fast]

Can you get a 7X for £20M

D and F :8

[PURPLE PITOT]

Well if he wants to go to LA:ugh: Apparently a GLEX wasn't in the budget!

[silverknapper]

Fairly safe bet he didn't pay anywhere close to list. Ambassadorial deals for F1 drivers are an OEM dream.

[Squadronbrat]

So much for his Honda Jet.

[CaptainProp]

Ah well, a consultant made a pretty penny selling him something he wanted to sell instead of something the client needed.

Spot on. Seen it so many times its not even funny anymore.... Amazing how people with cash enough to buy, or lease, aircraft never learn to get proper advice, or at least a second opinion.

[cldrvr]

A fool and his money.....

[Booglebox]

aeroncaman: Those of us professionally involved with private jets can see that Hamilton may have got a sub-optimal deal from TAG...
But you're right; chaps like him are where the money comes from. :cool:

[LGW Vulture]

If you know the results of his needs analysis then feel free to comment - unless of course you think you know, then by all means make complete arses of yourselves by explaining what an awful decision he's made.

[NuName]

In the circles he moves in I would hazard a guess that he has a wealth (pardon the pun) of unbiased information at his fingertips, B.E. would be one of them.

[Jet Jockey A4]

I'll jump in and side with the ones that say that unless you know exactly what the deal is all about, you cannot comment on Hamilton and why he got a Challenger.

Do we even know what type of Challenger he got?

IMHO he didn't pay the 20M pounds advertized in the headlines (especially if it is a used Challenger), that is just for show and to make people talk which seems to have worked rather well, especially the jealous or envious people of this world.

Besides he is not the only F1 driver to have bought a jet aircraft and he won’t be the last either. I’m sure many people around him talked and suggested to him what aircraft could accomplish the various missions required by him.

Nothing wrong in a Challenger for his mission profiles. Yes there are other options and aircraft with better performance available to buy or lease but at a substantial increase in cost.

[Booglebox]

Jet Jockey A4: it's a rumour network. Commentary is everything. :}
It's a 604, newish one, might be straight out of the factory.
It's by no means a terrible decision - it's a nice machine and he'll get good service from TAG. The thing is, rather, that he perhaps could have made a better investment; this interests those of us who are involved with private jets, who have been tightening our belts in these austere times.
Regarding the mission profile, the original article mentions frequent trips to LA... requiring a stop with a 604. Might be able to get away without one in, for example, a 7X - or he could have gone with something smaller & cheaper, and chartered heavy metal for hops across the pond. :E

[Jet Jockey A4]

Yes I understand this is a rumors forum but none the less let us take some BS out of it...

If it is a 604 it is definitely not new since it has been replaced by the 605 since January 2007 on the production line.

Like I said the quotes of 20M pounds or 23M Euros are highly exaggerated IMHO because a 604 depending on its built date, total hours and options is probably worth between $13 and $18M dollars.

Now you mention the 7X which is a relatively new aircraft costing close to $50M (new) which means it is most likely 3 times the price (if not more) than Hamilton paid for his Challenger… That buys a lot of gas!

On some of the city pairings that Hamilton will or might be doing even a GLEX or G550 would need to stop. So yes the slower and shorter distance flying 604 might not have the same performance level as the 3 other aircrafts but in the end its price point and its overall performance are a good value IMO.

Most people don’t qualify for a GLEX, 7X or G550. The manufacturers of those types of aircrafts look at corporations or people that are valued in the billions of dollars as serious contenders or buyers for those aircrafts.

[Pratt X 3]

G-LCDH is a brand new Challenger 605 (serial number 5904). Imported straight from Bombardier on December 18, 2012. List price for a 605 is about US$ 28,000,000 (GBP 18,000,000/EUR 20,700,000). Mr. Hamilton can jet off from London to visit Ms. Scherzinger in Hollywood in about 12 hours of flying time with a quick stop in lovely Iqaluit (Frobisher Bay, northern Canada) for fuel. By the way, an easy way to distinguish between a Challenger 605 and the earlier variants is the rounded tailcone versus the square style on the 604/601ER. Also, the cabin windows on the 605 are taller than the older versions.

[jumper11]

Sure a G550, GLEX and 7X can do it non-stop. You just need to put another 30M Euros into the pot to spare one Fuelstop... I personaly don't see a point in doing that..

[tommoutrie]

I can see the point. For a mere $30m extra, he can have me fly him to LA.

[His dudeness]

And would you bring flaps ? :}

[Jet Jockey A4]

Thanks for confirming the model as a 605.

From the picture I saw of the aircraft it was hard to tell if it was a rounded tailcone or the older style square version.

Although new and retailing at $28M I doubt very much that was the "out the door" price Lewis paid for it.

Regardless of all previous comments, it is an excellent aircraft and it should fulfill Lewis' travel needs adequately.

[Jet Jockey A4]

My original line said...

"On some of the city pairings that Hamilton will or might be doing even a GLEX or G550 would need to stop."

This was not meant to say that the GLEX or G550 could not do Europe - LA nonstop but rather on some other city pairings that he may encounter (India – LA or Mid East - LA) that these would be outside the GLEX and G550’s range.

So if the distance between two cities were say 6800 nm then the GLEX and G550 would have to stop as would the 605 of course. The only difference being that both the GLEX and G550 could do it at a much higher speed (less time) and in greater comfort due to their pressurization systems.

In the end buying a 7X, or GLEX or G550 would require spending at least twice the money over a brand new 605 and the operational cost would go up significantly too, something I suspect Mr. Hamilton was well aware of before his purchase.

Like I said before, $30M extra buys you a lot of fuel!

FYI… I fly both the Challenger and GLEX aircrafts.

[Jet Jockey A4]

Yes I know where the "West Coast" is but you fell to understand that Mr. Hamilton will not only be leaving from Europe to get to this West Coast. He travels the world during his F1 season so he could be leaving from China, from India from the Mid East and so on.

And you totally miss the point of a business jet then...

- You leave from where you want when you want.

- You don't have to be annoyed with all the other things that come with
airline travel...

- Plus 2 to 3 hour check in on international flights...

- Total privacy and not stuck with 300 other passengers...

- Better in-flight service if he chooses that option.

- Better security.

[NuName]

So there you have it, all F1 drivers have the same mission requirements. That makes it simple then :rolleyes:

[His dudeness]

So there you have it, all F1 drivers have the same mission requirements.

Well, if they share the same girlfriend, then....:}