“We're off to a strong start,” Boeing Business Jets (Booth A51, Stand AD_05) president Joe Benson said on Monday at EBACE. The company has received orders and an option for four aircraft thus far this year: a BBJ Max 7, two BBJ 787-8s, and the first option to purchase a BBJ 777-9.
“Each part of our family is represented in those orders and commitments,” Benson added. Those families are the single-aisle BBJ; in-production widebodies (the all-composite BBJ 787 Dreamliner); and BBJ 777X next-generation widebody.
The spread of the orders, Benson said, “demonstrates the strength and breadth of our portfolio, and that our customers see we're offering them the right combination of comfort and performance in our operating economics.”
Designed to fly upwards of 4,000 hours per year, BBJs provide higher reliability and retain more residual value than competing executive airliners, according to Boeing, and also benefit from Boeing's global network of services, parts, and maintenance.
The BBJ Max 7 ordered this year is the longest-range, single-aisle executive jet, according to Boeing, with a range of 6,600 nm, capable of linking Geneva and Singapore nonstop.
Boeing Business Jets' BBJ 787-8 has a range just shy of 10,000 nm and features all-electric system architecture, with the comfort of its 6,000-foot cabin altitude complemented by a cabin humidification system and smooth ride technology, thanks to fly-by-wire flight controls.
The in-development BBJ 777X, with a projected range of 11,025 nm, will be the first business jet capable of connecting any two cities in the world nonstop, and will offer more than 3,000 sq ft of floor area and the largest interior space of any civil aircraft in the world. Engineering design improvements and innovative technologies on the jet include a new carbon-fiber composite wing, whose outboard sections can fold upward when not in flight, making the big widebody compatible with current airport infrastructure. When it comes to market, anticipated in 2025, the 777X will be Boeing’s new flagship, replacing the 747-8.