The first Boeing 747-8 Business Jet was intended as a "flying mansion" for Saudi royalty, but after less than 30 flight hours, it was sent to a scrapyard. 

As Supercar Blondie reported, the strange fate of the jet — which was initially listed at $350 million — has sparked online discussion about a plane of this rarity going to waste. 

However, the buyer, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, died in 2011 before its scheduled delivery the following year. 

CNN reported that the VIP jet spent the next 10 years sitting at the EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg on the border of France, Germany, and Switzerland. 

While there, it was supposed to receive a luxurious interior outfitting complete with private bedrooms, lounge areas, conference rooms, and more, according to Supercar Blondie. 

But after struggling to find another buyer, even though it was discounted to $95 million in 2017, the transformation never happened. 

The massive passenger plane logged just 16 flights before being flown to Pinal Airpark — an aircraft boneyard where retired airplanes are kept for preservation, parts harvesting, or eventual scrapping — in Arizona in 2022.

The lack of interest in the plane is understandable, especially since few outside government officials or royalty would have use for it. However, it's still a major loss, as the value will likely never be fully recouped. CNN reported that as of 2023, it was being dismantled, with most of the valuable parts, including the engines, already removed. 

"[The engines] were effectively brand new, and one of them is probably in the region of $20 million, so four would be in the region of $80 million," Connor Diver, a senior analyst at aviation analytics firm Cirium, told CNN.

Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst at AeroDynamic Advisory, told the news outlet that many components will likely be reused in cargo planes. Diver said that nine other BBJ 747s were still in use by the governments of Egypt, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Turkey. 

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Though few have ever been produced, they still generate significant pollution due to their massive size, fuel consumption, and manufacturing. Despite improvements in fuel efficiency and plane design, private jets are far more polluting per passenger than commercial air or ground travel. 

There are around 23,000 private jets operating globally, according to Craft, but since the 747-8 VIP is the undisputed leader in size and amenities, its rarity is a small environmental and public health benefit. 

"Ten were built in total, and this is the first one retired," Diver said. "It's not transparent who exactly is buying them, but it's a very, very large private aircraft and the only operators or buyers tend to be governments and royal families."

"What an absolute waste of human and natural finite resources," someone commented on a post about the plane in the r/aviation subreddit.

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