Scott Meyer, Aloft AeroArchitects president and CEO, delivers the opening address to the Red Cabin Red Cabin Business Jet and VIP Interior Innovation Summit at Hyatt Place in Dewey Beach Sept. 22. The summit brings people from the business aircraft industry together to foster connections, collaboration and innovation. BILL SHULL PHOTOS
Scott Meyer, left, blows out a candle to celebrate Aloft's 50th anniversary at the opening of the summit. Maria Vasilikos, Aloft's marketing and customer experience manager, is holding the cake. Aloft has 300 employees at its campus at Delaware Coastal Airport.
Lori Diep, CEO of Euler Aviation Luxury, shows off a custom-made bed for a private aircraft. That bed can be folded up, placed in a case and carried on and off an aircraft. "It's comfort for the owners, but for the crew, they're looking for something compact, easy to put away and easy to set up," Diep said.
A seat that could be installed in a private jet is displayed by one of the vendors at the summit. One of Aloft's core businesses is installing custom aircraft interiors.
It's not a jet, but Bongiovi Aviation set up a van outside the Hyatt for a demo of its speakerless audio technology. The company was started by a cousin of rocker Jon Bon Jovi.
Gov. Matt Meyer addresses the tour and open house in one of Aloft's hangars. He celebrated the success Aloft and its employees have had in Delaware for the last 50 years.
An attendee from the Red Cabin Summit admires Panchito, the B-25 bomber based at the Delaware Aviation Museum on the other side of Delaware Coastal Airport. The World War II-era aircraft was part of the static display.
The view from the cabin into the cockpit of Schell Brothers' Gulfstream G550, which was also in the static display.
Scott Meyer, Aloft AeroArchitects president and CEO, delivers the opening address to the Red Cabin Red Cabin Business Jet and VIP Interior Innovation Summit at Hyatt Place in Dewey Beach Sept. 22. The summit brings people from the business aircraft industry together to foster connections, collaboration and innovation. BILL SHULL PHOTOS
Scott Meyer, left, blows out a candle to celebrate Aloft's 50th anniversary at the opening of the summit. Maria Vasilikos, Aloft's marketing and customer experience manager, is holding the cake. Aloft has 300 employees at its campus at Delaware Coastal Airport.
Lori Diep, CEO of Euler Aviation Luxury, shows off a custom-made bed for a private aircraft. That bed can be folded up, placed in a case and carried on and off an aircraft. "It's comfort for the owners, but for the crew, they're looking for something compact, easy to put away and easy to set up," Diep said.
A seat that could be installed in a private jet is displayed by one of the vendors at the summit. One of Aloft's core businesses is installing custom aircraft interiors.
It's not a jet, but Bongiovi Aviation set up a van outside the Hyatt for a demo of its speakerless audio technology. The company was started by a cousin of rocker Jon Bon Jovi.
Gov. Matt Meyer addresses the tour and open house in one of Aloft's hangars. He celebrated the success Aloft and its employees have had in Delaware for the last 50 years.
An attendee from the Red Cabin Summit admires Panchito, the B-25 bomber based at the Delaware Aviation Museum on the other side of Delaware Coastal Airport. The World War II-era aircraft was part of the static display.
The view from the cabin into the cockpit of Schell Brothers' Gulfstream G550, which was also in the static display.
For most people, they are seats they'll never sit in, beds they'll never sleep in or sound systems they'll never hear.
They are some of the products custom built for private jets that are being showcased at a conference at the Hyatt Place in Dewey Beach this week.
The event is called the Red Cabin Business Jet and VIP Interior Innovation Summit. About 250 people came to Sussex County from around the world to participate.
Red Cabin is German organization that brings people from the aviation, railroad, automotive and pleasure yacht industries together to foster connections, collaboration and innovation.
In this case, it is all about the custom interiors and accessories that are installed into the world's most luxurious private jets.
The week-long event is hosted by Aloft AeroArchitects, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
The company has 300 employees at its campus on the east side of Delaware Coastal Airport. It has also launched the Aloft Academy, a training program and pipeline to hire technicians.
Aloft offers a diverse range of aircraft services to the owners of Boeing Business Jets and other large private aircraft.
One of the company's core businesses is its completion center, the hangars where custom interiors are installed.
BBJs, the private version of the venerable Boeing 737, arrive at Aloft as greenies – uncompleted aircrafts painted in a green primer at the factory in Renton, Wash.
They are $100 million blank canvases, ready for the tech and the luxury to be added in Delaware.
Scott Meyer, Aloft president and CEO, said if someone can dream it, Aloft can design it.
He said much of the innovation comes from clients in the Middle East that want unique features like a massage room that turns into a casino, and much more.
"I had an airplane with three showers, one for crew, one for family and one for the principal [owner]," Meyer said. "I've seen dance floors and disco balls. We've been asked for fireplaces and Jacuzzis, which we haven't done. I think every one is its own unique challenge."
Lori Diep is the CEO of Euler Aviation Luxury, which specialtizes in custom-made beds, any size, to fit any large business jet. The products are made in California and are currently installed in 600 airplanes worldwide.
Diep worked as an interior designer for business jet manufacturers Gulfstream and Bombardier before starting her own business.
She demonstrated a compact, portable "club bed" that can be taken on and off the aircraft. The price tag is $13,000, not a big deal for the owner of a nine-figure jet.
"Our product is patented because of the accordion-style bed frame, and it fits in a nice little case," Diep said. "Storage is critical on these planes, so those are the things that everyone is looking for. It's comfort for the owners, but for the crew, they're looking for something compact, easy to put away and easy to set up."
The Red Cabin Summit included a tour of the Aloft campus, a behind-the-scenes look at the work that is done every day.
Gov. Matt Meyer was the featured speaker at the gathering. He celebrated the success Aloft and its employees have had for the last 50 years in Delaware.
"Today, heads of state and governments from around the world come to a small town in Sussex County, because this team does work that very few people across the world can do," the governor said.
Scott Meyer said Aloft has plans to expand, which he could not disclose. He said people will see the growth in the next five years.
But, he said, those plans depend on extending the runway at Delaware Coastal Airport another 500 feet to the southwest. The relocation of Park Avenue was the first phase. Meyer said lengthening the runway will not turn the field into a commercial airport.
"My constituents misunderstand the motivation," Meyer said. "The motivation isn't to increase traffic; it's to diversify traffic so different platforms and different operators can come here and stabilize the business. If I can stabilize the business, I can grow it."
Meyer also wanted to clear up misconceptions about the business aircraft industry. He said innovations, like the ones being talked about at the Red Cabin Summit, have changed the world.
"The seat-back monitors on commercial flights started in private aviation," Meyer said. "It used to be the space program. Now we do that for commercial, but we're making them greener [and more] sustainable. They're connecting the world differently. People lose sight of the fact that we're there first. If it's a hurricane, we deliver support. If it's commerce, we deliver leaders to sign deals and solve problems. And if it's an oppressor, we deliver hope and strength. And I don't think there's any other industry that does that."
Scott Meyer, Aloft AeroArchitects president and CEO, delivers the opening address to the Red Cabin Red Cabin Business Jet and VIP Interior Innovation Summit at Hyatt Place in Dewey Beach Sept. 22. The summit brings people from the business aircraft industry together to foster connections, collaboration and innovation. BILL SHULL PHOTOS
Scott Meyer, left, blows out a candle to celebrate Aloft's 50th anniversary at the opening of the summit. Maria Vasilikos, Aloft's marketing and customer experience manager, is holding the cake. Aloft has 300 employees at its campus at Delaware Coastal Airport.
Lori Diep, CEO of Euler Aviation Luxury, shows off a custom-made bed for a private aircraft. That bed can be folded up, placed in a case and carried on and off an aircraft. "It's comfort for the owners, but for the crew, they're looking for something compact, easy to put away and easy to set up," Diep said.
A seat that could be installed in a private jet is displayed by one of the vendors at the summit. One of Aloft's core businesses is installing custom aircraft interiors.
It's not a jet, but Bongiovi Aviation set up a van outside the Hyatt for a demo of its speakerless audio technology. The company was started by a cousin of rocker Jon Bon Jovi.
Gov. Matt Meyer addresses the tour and open house in one of Aloft's hangars. He celebrated the success Aloft and its employees have had in Delaware for the last 50 years.
An attendee from the Red Cabin Summit admires Panchito, the B-25 bomber based at the Delaware Aviation Museum on the other side of Delaware Coastal Airport. The World War II-era aircraft was part of the static display.
The view from the cabin into the cockpit of Schell Brothers' Gulfstream G550, which was also in the static display.





