Mike Martin
Boeing hopes to add to the single sale of a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) made in the region as Asia-Pacific moves out of the economic crises of the last couple of years, the company said at the show yesterday.
The company has had two BBJs at Asian Aerospace, giving show-goers an opportunity to experience their stunning interiors. One flew non-stop to the show from Geneva, a journey of 11,000km (6,000nm).
One of the passengers was Manfred Schindler, vice-president for international sales, who says he slept on the aircraft and started work at the show the moment he arrived.
That work now involves moving the sales drive - 56 aircraft sold, so far - more firmly into Asia-Pacific, where to date just one aircraft has been sold, in Malaysia.
"We hope to benefit from the [economic] upswing: as the economies improve, so are being more active in the region," says Schindler. "In the long term we see this as a very positive market. We don't see any barriers to sales in the region."
BBJ, a joint venture between Boeing and General Electric, is based around the Boeing 737-700 aircraft with the strengthened wings and landing gear from the larger and heavier Boeing 737-800.
Market projections suggest there will be demand for 600 ultra-long range, large capacity aircraft worldwide over 10 years, says Schindler. Boeing expects to win 30% of that, production settling at around 18 aircraft a year.
Boeing is working on the BBJ II, based on the 737-800. It will have 25% more space with similar range and performance as the BBJ. The aircraft was launched specifically in response to demand from the Middle East market where customers wanted more baggage space.
Source: Flight Daily News
