The first Boeing Business Jet 2 is in final assembly at Boeing's Renton, Washington, site and is expected to be delivered "green" to DeCrane Aircraft's Georgetown, Delaware, modification site by the end of the month.
Four sales of the BBJ 2, the corporate variant of the 737-800, have been announced to date, although Boeing Business Jets expects the version to eventually account for between 30% and 35% of its total corporate sales. The overall BBJ orderbook remains formally at the 71 reported last October, though a number of recent deals may have boosted sales to nearer 80 aircraft.
Boeing delivered 14 BBJs for completion in 2000, compared to 29 in 1999 and eight in 1998. Of the total 51 "green" deliveries, some 24 have now entered service - most retrofitted with Aviation Partners-developed blended winglets. The fleet has accumulated more than 7,700h and over 3,300 cycles to date, says Boeing, adding "reliability is at 99% and no major technical issues have been reported."
The first BBJ for fractional ownership pioneer Executive Jet is due to enter service in March. A further four aircraft are expected to join its NetJets programme by the end of September.
Source: Flight International
