The unveil of any new aircraft is a special occasion. But the recent reveal of the plane registered PH-GOV which will serve the Dutch government and Royal family, was arguably more special than most, due to the unusual factors surrounding its procurement, design, development and completion.

Replacing the outgoing Fokker 70 KBX, the new PH-GOV is a Boeing 737-700 business jet with the wings of a 737-800 and an interior design by CTM. What was different for this head-of-state jet was that it was bought via EU tender, in the public domain, and using taxpayers’ money for circa €90m.

CTM’s design director and Altea co-founder Robin Dunlop got involved in the previous plane’s design, after its co-ordinator heard him present to Fokker back in 2007 and was impressed enough to hire him. Staying in contact over that plane’s life in service, he retained pole position for the new PH-GOV plane too. Trouble was, due to the public nature of the EU procurement process, the interior design had to be done without knowing which plane manufacturer might win…