Boeing Business Jets has upped its sales tally for 2017 to 13 aircraft, adding six since the EBACE business aviation show in May, in what new BBJ president Greg Laxton calls a “fast and furious” year to date.
The orders include a second 737 Max 7 – the only narrowbody Boeing Business Jet able to fly 7,000nm (13,000km). Boeing secured its first customer for the Max 7 BBJ late last year – a variant Laxton describes as a “game-changer” as it gives the airframer a product with a similar range to a Gulfstream G650ER or Bombardier Global 7000.
Boeing has also notched up orders for six widebody business jets – three 747-8s and three 777-300ERs – in 2017, as well as two BBJ Max 9s, two original BBJs and a pair of BBJ 2s. There have been four deliveries of green aircraft: three 777-300ERs and one 787-8.
In total, Boeing has orders for the BBJ version of the Max, with the first delivery to a completion centre – a 737 Max 8 – due in the second quarter of 2018. Airliner versions of the re-engined narrowbody began to enter service from May this year.
Laxton, who took the top job at Boeing’s corporate and head of state aircraft division earlier this year, says 2017 has been a “good year” so far. “As we cycle, some years are better than others, but a lot of our success has to do with our diverse portfolio of aircraft. We’re on an uptick and it looks like it will continue, and the good thing is we are not just selling predominantly in one region,” he adds.
He expects the Max 7 BBJ – the first of which Boeing will deliver green in 2021 – to open a new market niche for Boeing, and not just because of its range. “Not only is there more room than on a [737NG-based] BBJ, but you can’t have a stand-up shower or separate meeting rooms on a Gulfstream,” he says.
Meanwhile, Greenpoint Technologies – which is at the show as part of parent Zodiac Aerospace’s presence – says it is working towards its vision set down four years ago "to become the world’s premier 787 completion centre”. The Washington state-based outfitter says it has invested “millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of engineering hours to fully understand Boeing’s latest complex aircraft”.
Greenpoint debuted the world’s first “VVIP” 787-8 interior at EBACE in May last year and has since secured four 787 completion contracts, including the first 787-9 business jet. It will hand over the first, a 787-8, early next year, followed by two more of that variant later that year. A 787-9 will be handed over in 2019, the company says.
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Source: Flight Daily News
