Boeing Business Jets president Steven Hill says he is confident that the company will reach the milestone of 100 BBJ sales by the end of the year, with a view to announcing confirmation at the NBAA show in New Orleans in November.

In an interview with EBAN, Hill said that the ‘charter phenomenon’ and interest from private individuals in Europe and the Middle East have helped the company to outsell

its nearest competitor by a factor of four to one.

To date, 57 customers have ordered 83 BBJs and 14 BBJ2s, many of which are for private individuals (about 40 per cent). Government heads of state account for some 38 per cent of orders and the remaining segment is divided between corporate customers and charter operators.

There are currently 81 BBJs in service worldwide, which have already logged more than 140,000 flight hours. The Middle East accounts for about a third of all BBJ sales, a figure matched by North America and the rest of

the world.

Boeing recently announced several enhancements to the BBJ, including a lower cabin altitude of 6,500 feet compared with the 8,000 feet previously, which will come as standard for deliveries from 2006.

Additional enhancements include Electronic Flight Bags (EFB) and the Future Air Navigation System, both of which are retrofittable and will also be standard equipment on future orders.

Hill believes that many customers will opt to retrofit the new equipment, and notes that the EFBs are already in demand. “They will enable pilots to carry out their jobs more efficiently.”

Although any Boeing airliner airframe can be delivered ‘green’ to completions centres for outfitting as a vip aircraft, the company is considering the possibility of diversifying its BBJ offerings to appeal to broader markets.

The BBJ and BBJ2 – derivatives of the 737-700 and 737-800 – could soon be joined by smaller, 737-600 derivative and additional aircraft with ranges between 4,500nm and 4,800nm. “This is so we can compete with smaller cabin, long-range aircraft,” said Hill.

The company estimates that the 737-600 derivative would cost between $45 million and $50 million, placing it below the price range of completed BBJs and BBJ2s, which are supplied green for approximately $44.5 million and $54.5 million respectively

According to Hill, the 737-900 is also a potential candidate to join the BBJ family, and there has been a lot of interest in a vip version of the 787. “They are attractive to the Middle Eastern market.”

Summing up the company’s ethos and drive behind the continued diversification of the BBJ family, Hill said: “We’re selling space and we listen to the needs of our customers.” With some 270 vip aircraft in operation (including BBJs) it appears that space is a commodity much in demand at the top end of the business aircraft market.