It has been claimed that for the very first time aboard a BBJ - which Lufthansa Technik (LHT) completed for a European customer on May 31 - the passengers can enjoy current TV programmes on international flights too. A spokesman for LHT, speaking at Berlin's ILA exhibition, said: "Thanks to the latest technology, advanced avionics and their integration into the aircraft, what had previously been possible only in small business planes in US airspace has become available worldwide: inflight live TV."

LHT says this BBJ is the first of its type to be equipped with a satellite antenna that can receive and digitally process TV signals from all satellite systems. Onboard, the passengers can choose from among 400 live TV programmes. The only limitation, says the company, is that over large stretches of water no signal is available from present-day satellite systems. Said the spokesman: "Nonetheless, plans are afoot to overcome this."

LHT worked with US company Airshow and Japan's Matsushita to make this technology work and says it already has a backlog of 'numerous' orders from customers.

It has also been announced that LHT will become a completion centre for the Dornier Envoy 7 business jet. Under the agreement, Lufthansa Technik will be certified to do completions for non-US customers as well as provide support and maintenance for the Envoy 7.

Meanwhile, LHT is enlarging its vip centre at the Lufthansa base in Hamburg. Two or three additional production lines for the LHT XXL class are planned for next year. The company says five of the custom-equipped jets will be delivered during the year, with six to eight more scheduled for completion in 2001. It is predicted that sales for the present year will reach 150 million DM.