Turbine Pilot

Big airplanes aren't just for airlines

Bigger is better. That concept, in brief, is what sets the Boeing Business Jet apart from its competitors in the new and highly competitive ultra-long-haul business jet arena. The BBJ is the latest iteration of Boeing's highly successful 737 series. Think of a somewhat modestly scaled-down version of Air Force One and you begin to get the not-so-subtle marketing message here. Boeing, in fact, touts the aircraft as being perfect for "heads of states of smaller countries." (Are you listening, Fiji?) The company is wagering that there is a place in the hierarchy of business aircraft for its Big Business Jet — an almost embarrassingly spacious, very long-range aircraft that global powerbrokers and other really, really important people can use as an airborne base of operations. Whoever said that conspicuous consumption was out of style anyway? With 46 firm orders on the books as this goes to press, it appears that Boeing may be on to something. Airbus Industrie, too. Not to be outdone by its American nemesis, Airbus has come up with its own jumbo long-range business jet based on an airliner design — the A319CJ. The A319CJ's specifications are similar to those of the BBJ.

Just what is a BBJ? In a nutshell, it is a next-generation 737-700, with the beefier landing gear and strengthened wing and fuselage sections of its larger sibling, the 737-800. The modifications greatly increase the maximum gross takeoff weight of a stock 737-700, from 153,000 lb. all the way to 171,000 lb. (just shy of the 737-800's MGTOW of 172,500 lb.). Most of the weight increase is applied toward usable fuel capacity, accounting for the BBJ's 6,000-nautical-miles-plus range. Almost 75,000 lb. of fuel can be loaded if an operator installs all nine possible auxiliary fuel tanks. (Each aux tank reduces available below-deck baggage capacity.) And forget about that six-abreast 737 coach seating that you endured on your last airline hop. Customized BBJ interior furnishings costing $7 million to $12 million (on top of the $38-million green delivery price) promise to put all the fun back in wanton self-indulgence.

The idea for a grand-scale aircraft that oozes prestige from every pore is hardly new. For decades, the conversion of older airline transports into high-end VIP jets has trickle-fed a steady, if not very large, niche market. Boeing itself tried to drum up interest in a factory-new corporate version of the 737-200 back in 1967, when it created a business aircraft sales division to market the concept. The following year it showcased the jet at the annual NBAA convention. But it proved to be a tough sell, and Boeing managed to deliver only a pair of 737s in pinstriped business attire. With its corporate sales efforts stymied by this tepid response, Boeing focused instead on its bread-and-butter customers, the airlines. Carriers around the world responded over time by making the 737 series the most widely used airline jet transport in the world, a title that it retains today.

Fast forward to the mid-1990s. Corporate aviation has come of age, and a whole range of options abounds, from owner-flown-and-operated turboprops and light jets to various examples of heavier iron. CNN, the Internet, and corporate globalization continue to shrink the world. But what's a globe-straddling titan of industry to do when being there is the only way to build an empire in faraway places not conveniently frequented by the airlines? The answer, according to the marketing types who get paid to know these things, is the ultra-long-range business jet. The Gulfstream V and Bombardier Global Express were, of course, the much-ballyhooed early contestants. And for a while at least, it seemed that the battle over market share would remain a two-horse race.

Enter Boeing once again. With price tags for this new class of business jet nearing the stratospheric $40-million mark, the company realized it had a mature aircraft that could be adapted to compete head-on for a piece of the pie. It had already invested considerable time and money in developing the latest members of the 737 family, the so-called New Generation series of -600, -700, and -800 737s. With a completely redesigned wing; bigger, more efficient engines; a new avionics suite; and a host of additional improvements, the New Generation 737s represented a quantum leap in operating efficiencies over earlier models. Boeing rightfully reasoned that it could bring the BBJ version to market in a fraction of the time it would take to develop a completely new business jet in this class.

But first Boeing had to admit that a company adept at selling large jets to airlines might not know everything that it needed to know about corporate aviation sales and support. Criticized for its past square-peg-in-a-round-hole approach, it decided that a fresh tack was needed this time around. Along with engine partner General Electric, in 1996 the Boeing Company formed Boeing Business Jets as a joint-venture marketing company. The new entity was charged with developing and marketing the BBJ, separate from Boeing's airline sales activities. (General Electric is itself a 50/50 partner with Snecma of France in another joint venture — CFM International, which builds the CFM-56-7B26 high-bypass turbofan engines used on the BBJ.)

The marketing gurus got to work figuring out what sets business-aircraft operators apart from the airlines, and some obvious differences quickly surfaced. For instance, most corporate flight departments put far fewer cycles on their aircraft than do the airlines. In response, Boeing Business Jets developed a low-flight-time maintenance program, with inspection intervals for the BBJ that are considerably different from those of typical high-cycle airline operations. Most airlines operate their own training departments, while corporate flight departments more often need access to outside training support. FlightSafety Boeing, yet another joint venture with training giant FlightSafety International, was thus established by the two companies to provide all aspects of initial and recurrent training.

Boeing Business Jets inherited bragging rights to parent company Boeing's worldwide support organization, arguably the best of any aircraft manufacturer. A network of 128 service centers spans the far reaches of the globe, staffed by hundreds of Boeing and GE/CFMI technicians. If a needed part is unavailable at a particular location, Boeing can have one winging its way within two hours of notification by the customer. The company maintains a huge stock of supplies for all of its aircraft at its gargantuan Seattle Spares Distribution Center, and customers can order and track parts through a Web-based inventory control program.

Boeing cagily set the $38-million acquisition cost of a BBJ to closely match that of a G-V or Global Express. It acknowledges that flight for flight a BBJ will incur higher fuel costs than either competitor, but the company claims that far lower hourly maintenance reserves mean the operating cost bottom line is a wash. All of which means that you can sign your next big deal in Kazakhstan, then celebrate with a good haircut at LAX, for about the same price that those other guys are paying.

Neither Gulfstream nor Bombardier has ignored Boeing Business Jet's intrusion into what they consider to be their rightful marketplace. They point to the BBJ's relatively slow long-range cruise speed of Mach 0.79 as a serious drawback on 10- to 14-hour missions. Even its top speed of Mach 0.82 doesn't compare with the top Mach 0.88 to 0.90 speeds possible in the G-V and Global Express. Boeing counters that with 807 square feet of interior cabin space — nearly three times that of its competitors — passengers aboard a BBJ will be able to make more effective use of whatever time they do spend on board. Interior layout flexibility is another selling point. All that space can be reconfigured in a matter of hours to carry from eight to 50 passengers, something neither competing aircraft can do. The company has also hinted that the BBJ's top speed could be increased to as much as Mach 0.86 in the future because of the inherently better performance of the New Generation wing design. However, as yet there are no plans to do so.

Boeing Business Jets recently suffered one embarrassing setback in the tit-for-tat marketing wars. Golf legend Greg Norman backed out of a highly publicized deal to purchase a BBJ, electing to buy a G-V instead.

The transformation of the 737 from the earliest models up to the BBJ is one of the great examples of how an airplane can be improved over time. The first 737-100s were essentially short- to medium-range airliners that on a good day (read "strong tailwind") could fly from St. Louis to New York without a fuel stop. At a MGTOW of 109,000 lb., they were the airline equivalent of the little engine that could. Lacking the more highly swept wings of some bigger and faster contemporary aircraft like the 727, they chugged along at a respectable, if not awe-inspiring, 0.75 Mach long-range cruise speed, powered by the JT8D family of Pratt & Whitney engines. The airlines loved their dispatch reliability and ability to endure high-cycle scheduling.

The BBJ is worlds apart in performance from the earliest 737s, but still similar enough in operation that the FAA does not require a separate type rating. Takeoff thrust has increased to 26,400 lb. per engine compared with the 14,500 lb. available on the early JT8D-9A powered 737-200. Maximum certified cruise altitude has gone up, too — to FL410 from FL350 for early models. But it is the BBJ's ability to fly nonstop from New York to Beijing or London to Los Angeles that distances it from all previous models.

The best-kept secret about the BBJ is not what the bigwigs in the back are up to, but what a pilot-pleasing design Boeing has produced. Having logged several hundred hours in my airline's new 737-700 and -800 aircraft in recent months, I admit to feeling as spoiled piloting them as pampered passengers will no doubt feel riding in the back of a BBJ. Boeing did not have a completed BBJ available to sample for this article (the first green deliveries are occurring as this is written); however, from the cockpit door forward, there is little difference between the New Generation 737 variants.

Six large liquid-crystal display units (DUs) dominate the panel, part of the aircraft's Common Display System. Boeing borrowed heavily from avionics architecture developed for its 777 in designing the New Generation cockpits. The DUs are easily read in all light conditions, and they allow for the presentation of far more information than was possible with old-style "steam gauge" instrumentation. Standard cockpit accouterments include dual GPS, dual flight-management and autopilot systems, a predictive wind shear warning system, an enhanced ground proximity warning system, and TCAS II. The aircraft is certified for both ETOPS and CAT IIIA autoland operations.

Most BBJ operators will probably elect the available Flight Dynamics head-up display as an option, as well as sophisticated satellite communications systems that provide for worldwide telecommunications capabilities for those toiling away in the back.

On one recent transcon flight from Newark International to San Diego International-Lindbergh Field in a 737-800, our takeoff weight was 171,300 lb., almost exactly that of a fully loaded BBJ. With a 50-knot average headwind and a cruise speed of Mach 0.80, we made the flight in five hours, 34 minutes. At touchdown we still had more than two and one-half hours of fuel remaining. Had we been in a BBJ, we would still have eight and one-half hours of fuel onboard, enough to overfly San Diego and continue on to Tokyo.

While offering a full palette of advanced cockpit automation, this most modern of jets can be enjoyed on a basic level too. It's still possible to turn off the automation and hand-fly it, simply for the sake of flying. True to its lineage, the New Generation series of 737s respond crisply to pilot-control inputs. They are solidly stable, as one would expect of such large aircraft. They are also procedures-and numbers-oriented machines that reward a pilot's efforts with predictable behavior. Like earlier 737s, the New Generation series continue the type's reputation for landing manners that consistently make the crew look good.

Whether the competition likes it or not, the BBJ has muscled its way into the rarified world of corporate ultra-long-haul flying. By ripping apart the envelope on what constitutes a "corporate" aircraft, the BBJ shows that big airplanes are no longer just for the airlines.