Arguably NBAA's most significant announcement, in manufacturer terms, was the unveiling by Boeing Business Jets, of the BBJ 2. Speaking from his conference platform, Borge Boeskov, BBJ's president, told a sizeable audience: "We're announcing the BBJ 2 today and we expect to put the aircraft out late next year or early 2000." Asked whether this project has been on the cards for some time, Boeskov replied: "It has come a year earlier than we thought it would."\rAccording to Boeskov, the BBJ 2 has come about primarily for one simple reason - space. He said: "Several customers wanted more floor space. There is a customer base that needs a little more room." Comparing it to its predecessor, Boeing says: "This will provide business and vip customers with even more interior space, comfort and utility than its initial product offering, the BBJ." \rThe new aircraft is to be built on a 737-800 fuselage, which is 20 feet longer than the 737-700 fuselage upon which the BBJ is based. Boeing says the BBJ 2 will have 25 per cent more floor space and more than twice the luggage space of that in the BBJ. The compromise BBJ 2 customers will have to accept for this additional space, is the 465 nautical miles less range of which the BBJ 2 is capable.\rBoeskov said: "Offering both the BBJ and BBJ 2 will help us capture an even larger part of the emerging market for ultra long-range business jets." With a 'green' price of $43 million (1999$), the BBJ 2 will cruise at speeds of up to .82 Mach and will be able to serve routes such as New York to Buenos Aires and London to Johannesburg. Additional features which are not typically found in other corporate jets, says Boeing, include a private crew rest area or emergency medical facility, an advanced satellite communications centre, an exercise suite, full-sized bathrooms and showers, conference room, dining room, bedrooms and full-service office facilities. In terms of completion costs, Boeskov said that a BBJ 2 completion will be relative to that of a BBJ, "maybe 20 per cent more".