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Personalized Home Page Setup Put headlines on your homepage about the companies, industries and topics that interest you most. Wide-Flying Moguls: Google Duo's New Jet Is a Boeing 767-200 Included Are Two Staterooms, A Shower, Seats for 50; It's 'Good for the World' By KEVIN J DELANEY, J LYNN LUNSFORD and MARK MAREMONT Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL November 4, 2005; Page A1 On the road, Sergey Brin and Larry Page have owned environmentally friend ly hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Prius.
The 767-200, typically an airline workhorse, is an unusual executive jet. The Italian Air Force has ordered a modified 767 as a n airborne tanker for refueling military jets. The 767-200 is almost 70% longer and more than three times as heavy as a conventional executive j et, such as a high-end Gulfstream. Mr Page says his plane will hold about 50 passengers when its refurbishm ent is complete. A top Gulfstream business jet typically carries 15 or f ewer. People in the aviation industry familiar with the planned interior say it will have a sitting area, two staterooms with adjoining lavatories and a shower. At the rear will be 12 to 16 first-clas s seats for guests or employees and a large galley. Tech moguls delight in public one-upmanship and the Google founders' 767 raises the bar.
co-founder Paul Allen owns a fleet o f aircraft, but his flagships -- two Boeing 757s -- are smaller than Mes srs. It also marks a new level of consumption by th e Google executives, who have shunned most trappings of the super-rich d espite a combined net worth estimated at more than $20 billion. Federal Aviation Administration records suggest that this plane, formerl y owned by Qantas Airways, is the one recently purchased by Google found ers Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Federal Aviation Administration records suggest that this plane, formerly owned by Qantas Airways, is the one recently purchased by Google founde rs Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Mr Page acknowledges that the purchase might seem ostentatious. But "we tend to have an engineering approach, to be fact-based," he says. That's roughly one- third the price of a new Gulfstream 550 business jet. In addition, the 7 67 can carry more passengers and can include sleeping accommodations. Th e Google co-founders wanted to fit more than 50 people but were limited by federal aviation rules, Mr Page says. Filled to capacity, it's poten tially cheaper to run, per person than a Gulfstream. Mr Page says he and Mr Brin bought the plane themselves and will use it for personal travel. He says there's no plan for Google to reimburse th e duo for its costs. A Google spokesman says the plane has no formal con nection with the company. As for what they plan to do with it, Mr Page wouldn't be specific. He sa ys "part of the equation for this sort of machinery is to be able to tak e large numbers of people to places such as Africa.
org, a program for corporate philanthropy and sociall y minded investments that is funding projects in Africa and elsewhere. Evidence suggests that the 767 in question flew for over a decade in Qant as Airways' fleet with the airline's red-and-white kangaroo logo on its tail. Federal Aviation Administration records show that the Qantas 767 was boug ht in March by a limited-liability company registered in Delaware. On a recent day, calls to that number were answered by a voicemail system announcing that "Eric Sc hmidt is not available. Mr Schm idt, Google's chief executive, didn't return a message left on the machi ne. He and Mr Brin, through a spokesman, declined to comment for this a rticle.
According to FAA records, the jet also shares an address, phone number an d contact name with another Delaware company. That company owns a Gulfst ream V jet that appears to be one Mr Schmidt bought earlier this year. The shared address is a mailbox in a UPS Store not far from Google headq uarters. Mr Page wouldn't say whether or not the Qantas plane was the one they bo ught. The 767 purchase was first brought to public attention by a blog w ritten by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Jeffrey Nolan. The Google co-founders' 767 is now in San Antonio, people familiar with t he matter say, having its interior re-done by Gore Design Completions Lt d, a firm that specializes in outfitting executive jets. Previous clien ts include the Chinese government and the Detroit Pistons basketball tea m Gore, in a May 12 press release, announced a contract to outfit a 767 -200 with "a 100% VIP interior" for an unnamed US customer. Rick Penshorn, Gore's vice president of operations, says confidentiality agreements prohibit him from identifying who owns the plane. When it's f inished in several months, he says, it will be transformed from a glorif ied bus into a "good, functional, well-appointed corporate aircraft, but not anything over the top." Mr Penshorn says "really opulent" jet makeovers can cost as much as $45 million. A 767 can be comfortably outfitted for about $25 million, he sa ys. One amenity the Google co-founders have asked for, say people famili ar with the matter: in-flight Internet access. Although the 767 costs more per hour to fly, Ms Bi erwirth says, it can be cost-effective if used to shuttle large numbers of people. That includes both variab le costs such as fuel and fixed items such as crew salaries, maintenance and depreciation. If the planes were filled to capacity on a round-trip coast-to-coast flig ht, however, the 767 looks more attractive. Based on the Conklin & deDec ker data, a Gulfstream V would cost roughly $400 per flight hour per pas senger to operate, compared with $260 for the duo's plane. The purchase of a wide-body jet for personal use might seem at odds with the Google founders' support for environmental causes. The company gives employees $5,000 if they buy hybrid gas-electric cars, for example. Mr Page, in response, notes a recent investment that Mr Brin made on be half of the co-founders and Mr Schmidt in a $550-million fund to help f inance projects that reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
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