Zelensky’s presidential plane has been extensively renovated and an updated entertainment system will be installed
The Lithuanian company J&C Aero has completed a large-scale reconstruction of the cabin of the President of Ukraine’s Airbus A319 CJ.
According to the Lithuanian company, the airliner has updated fabric coverings, interior cladding, executive seats and sofas, carpets, laminate and other parts of the cabin, BusinessCensor reports citing avianews.com.
J&C Aero also developed a project to integrate a new entertainment system (IFE) into the presidential aircraft, upgrade the cabin management system, and certified these changes. The company’s team also acted as an intermediary in the supply of the KA-BAND Satcom navigation system and supported its subsequent installation on the aircraft.
The Lithuanian company produced the updated interior elements at its own production facility, while their installation and maintenance was carried out by Magnetic MRO at Tallinn Airport.
“Undoubtedly, this was one of our most challenging and ambitious projects… We are grateful to Ukraine International Airlines for their trust and to our partners Magnetic MRO for their support in this project. We are also very grateful to our team for their hard work and many sleepless nights,” commented Laurinas Skukauskas, CEO of J&C Aero.
In February, he called the contract with the state airline Ukraine, which operates the presidential Airbus A319, the deal of the year.
The Airbus A319 CJ of the President of Ukraine has UR-ABA registration and is part of the fleet of the State Aviation Enterprise Ukraine.
CJ stands for Corporate Jetliner. This is a VIP version of the aircraft from the most popular A320 family of Airbus aircraft.
For the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used an Airbus A319 CJ on September 18, 2023. The plane took the head of state from Poland to the United States, then to Canada, and then back to Poland.
The procurement of services for renovation of the presidential plane’s interior could not be found in the Prozorro system. Over the past two years, the system has reflected the tenders of the State Aviation Enterprise “Ukraine” for data transmission services and services for maintenance of operational and technical documentation for the CPDLC (pilot dispatcher) equipment for the A-319 aircraft, c/n UR-ABA.
According to the Lithuanian media, J&C Aero won the tender in early 2022.
As reported, in November 2020, the Scientific Institute of the State Special Communications Service of Ukraine ordered services from the Arab company Etihad Airways Engineering LLC to modernize communications in the presidential aircraft Airbus 319-115 (UR-ABA) for UAH 32.4 million. The new Honeywell JetWave station was to provide satellite Internet at a maximum speed of 50 Mbps. But after the publicity, this procurement was canceled “due to the lack of further need”.
Before the second round of the presidential election, Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised to sell the planes of the presidential airline Ukraine, but after being elected president, he changed his mind.
As a reminder, Ukraine Airlines of the State Administration of Affairs received an Airbus 319-115 (registration number UR-ABA) after a special order modernization in the United States in 2010.
The cabin of the airliner consists of rooms for the president, as well as members of the delegation and accompanying persons. The presidential compartment consists of an office (approximately 3×3 m), a place for rest (approximately 2×2.5 m) and a bathroom.
The cabin for official delegations has 12 seats upholstered in leather and leatherette. In the cabin for accompanying persons, the seats are covered with leatherette
