Boeing 737-900ER Basis of New BBJ

DUBAI, November 21, 2005, Boeing [NYSE: BA] Business Jets today announced it is offering a new, more spacious Boeing Business Jet (BBJ). The new product offering is a business jet version of Boeing's Next-Generation 737-900ER commercial jetliner. It offers 35 percent more cabin space than the BBJ and 11 percent more cabin space than the BBJ 2.

"BBJ customers value long-range capability and cabin size and this product offering enhances both attributes of the BBJ family," Boeing Business Jets President Steven Hill said during a media briefing at the Dubai Air Show.

According to Boeing, twenty-six percent of the BBJ worldwide fleet is based in the Middle East. The majority of BBJ 2s has been ordered from that region and they make up almost half of the area's BBJ fleet.

With a launch order, the airplane would be named the BBJ 3. It will offer 1,120 square feet (104 square meters) of cabin space. With up to five auxiliary fuel tanks, the jet will have a maximum range of 4,765 nautical miles (8,825 km).

The BBJ 3 would join the BBJ and BBJ 2 family of business jets, which are based on the commercially popular Next-Generation 737-700 and 737-800, respectively.

The BBJ cabin offers 807 square feet (75 square meters) of space, while the BBJ 2 offers 25 percent more cabin space and twice as much cargo capacity as the BBJ.

To date, 102 BBJs have been sold since program launch in 1996. There are currently 83 BBJs in service around the world. The fleet has generated more than 168,000 flight hours to date and 66,250 flights, with a 99.9 percent dispatch reliability.