Thelife- A planespotter at LAX was surprised by a Boeing 737 with an unusual grey livery.
- The jet turned out to be owned by a company linked to SpaceX.
Elon Musk's SpaceX has seemingly bought a Boeing 737 that used to belong to Air China, records show.
A planespotter filmed the jet, registered as N154TS, landing at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday — where its unique grey livery attracted attention.
The Federal Aviation Administration's registry shows the jet's owner is Falcon Aviation Holdings LLC. That company's address is the same as SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
Unexpected visitor at LAX: A Boeing 737-800 with a distinctive livery, registered under Falcon Aviation Holdings LLC. Interesting twist – its registration address is linked to SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne! #aviation #avgeek #airplanes #planespotting pic.twitter.com/mf6I29kt26
— AIRLINE VIDEOS (@airlinevideos) January 25, 2024
Falcon Aviation Holdings took ownership of the 737-800 back in July, according to data from Planespotters.net. The Boeing jet first entered service in 2002, when it was delivered to Air China.
A decade later, Air China then converted the plane into a freighter. It's unclear whether it's still configured as such, or what SpaceX might be using it for.
Notably, the subsidiary which owns the jet is different from the other planes related to SpaceX.
A review of the current aircraft related to SpaceX
— Jack Sweeney (@Jxck_Sweeney) January 26, 2024
N628TS (FALCON LANDING LLC) a G650
N272BG (FALCON LANDING LLC) a G550
N502SX (FALCON LANDING LLC) > Now (TVPX TRUSTEE) a G550
N450GG (TVPX TRUSTEE) a G450
N154TS (FALCON AVIATION HOLDINGS LLC) a B738
Jack Sweeney, the aviation enthusiast who has drawn Musk's ire by tracking the jets, noted there are five planes linked to SpaceX. Most of them are owned by Falcon Landing LLC.
All the other four are Gulfstream private jets, including the G650 which is Musk's typical mode of air transport.
So why his company has bought another plane, which can seat up to 10 times more people than a Gulfstream, remains to be seen.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, sent outside regular US working hours.