Advisory Services
VIP Completion
Owner’s Representation
An independent owner’s representative inside the completion centre — controlling cost, schedule and certification on BBJ, ACJ and widebody VIP cabins from green aircraft to entry into service.
Completion Advisory
A Completion Is a Contract Before It Is a Cabin
Most of the money lost on a VIP completion is lost on paper: in a specification that leaves room for interpretation, in a completion agreement that is silent on what counts as a defect, and in change orders signed under schedule pressure. By the time the cabin is visible, the outcome is largely fixed.
Aviation Asset Advisors places an owner’s representative into the programme from the specification stage. We negotiate and then police the completion agreement, review every change request for cost, weight and certification impact, and inspect the work against the owner’s specification — not against the completion centre’s internal standard.
We also look past delivery. A cabin that is heavy, hard to maintain or approved under data that will not transfer to the next registry costs the owner twice: once in operating cost and again at resale. Those consequences are raised at the design review, while they are still cheap to change.
Where We Intervene
The Points Where Outcomes Are Decided
Completion centre selection and bid levelling
The specification goes to qualified centres and the bids are normalised so they can be compared line by line: what is included, what is a provisional sum, and what will come back later as a change order.
The completion agreement
Payment milestones tied to verifiable progress, liquidated damages for late delivery, weight guarantees, warranty terms, and an objective definition of delivery acceptance.
Design freeze and critical design review
Confirming the frozen design matches the specification, sits inside the weight and range targets, and has a credible certification path before production drawings are released.
Green aircraft induction
Acceptance of the green aircraft and a documented record of its condition on arrival, so pre-existing defects are never charged to the owner.
Build-phase surveillance
Scheduled and unannounced quality inspections, critical-path monitoring, and a live open-items register shared with the owner.
Test, acceptance and delivery
Attendance at ground tests, pressurisation and test flights; the final punch list; certification and records review — and a recommendation to sign the acceptance certificate only when the aircraft meets the agreement.
Owner Reporting
Reporting the Owner Can Act On
Programme Dashboard
- Milestones against the contract schedule
- Critical-path risks flagged early
- Payment milestones verified before release
Change-Order Register
- Every change costed and justified
- Weight and schedule impact
- Certification impact
- Recommendation: approve, negotiate or reject
Quality Findings Log
- Defects by system and cabin zone
- Responsible party
- Closure verified on the aircraft
Delivery Package
- Certification and approval documentation
- Weight and balance report
- Instructions for Continued Airworthiness
- Component records ready for the operator
Risk
Common Sources of Overrun and Dispute
These are the patterns that turn an 18-month programme into a three-year one.
- Specification language that cannot be enforced — “high quality finish” is an opinion; measurable acceptance criteria are not
- Weight growth — stone, heavy veneers and bespoke monuments quietly erode range unless tracked against a weight budget from day one
- Design changes after drawings are released, often the single largest driver of cost and delay
- Certification surprises — materials that fail flammability or heat-release testing, or electrical loads that exceed available power
- Owner-furnished equipment that arrives late or does not meet installation requirements
- Delivery terms that leave the owner arguing over what counts as a defect
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
When should an owner's representative be appointed?
Before the completion centre is chosen — ideally while the specification is being written. The specification and the completion agreement decide most of the outcome, and both are settled before any work starts on the aircraft.
Do you work alongside the owner's interior designer?
Yes. The designer owns the look and the experience of the cabin. We own the technical, commercial and certification side, and make sure the design can be built, priced and approved. See cabin specification and engineering.
How do you control change orders?
Every change request is reviewed for necessity, price, weight, schedule and certification impact before it reaches the owner, with a recommendation to approve, negotiate or reject. Nothing is approved without the owner's authority.
Can you take over a programme that is already under way?
Yes. The first deliverable is an independent status audit: where the programme stands against the contract, what is open, what has been paid for, and a realistic delivery date.
What happens at delivery acceptance?
We attend the final inspections, functional tests and acceptance flight and review the delivery records. We then recommend either signing the acceptance certificate or withholding signature against a specific list of items.
Related Advisory
Often Engaged Together
Protect Your Completion Investment
Already at a Completion Centre?
Whether the programme is at specification or in build, we can step in as the owner's independent representative. Contact us for a confidential consultation.
Discuss Your Program