Plane Worth $51 Million List

This week at EBACE, Boeing Business Jets and Ocean Sky Aviation announced an order for a BBJ. Based in London, Ocean Sky is Europe's fastest growing private jet charter company.

The new order, worth $51 million at list price, brings the total number of Boeing business jets sold this year to nine. Earlier this week, Boeing Business Jets announced it had won new orders for six BBJs and two 787 VIP airplanes.

"I'm very excited about this order. With the BBJ we will be offering the world's most popular aircraft type to complete our range of aircraft from midsize, ultra-long range to super luxury jet," said Kurosh Tehranchian, chief executive officer of Ocean Sky.

The BBJ is the first Boeing business jet for the premier private jet charter company, and will be used to fly Ocean Sky's select clientele to a wide range of worldwide destinations. Premium charter companies represent approximately 10 percent of the Boeing Business Jets customer base.

"We are convinced that the BBJ is the right tool to help Ocean Sky grow its business. The BBJ provides the ultimate in space and luxurious comfort and will undoubtedly delight Ocean Sky customers," said Boeing Business Jets President Steven Hill during a contract signing ceremony held Tuesday in Geneva.

The BBJ is a derivative of the 737-700 commercial airliner, that offers 807 square feet of cabin space. Designed for VIP, government head-of-state and charter applications, the BBJ combines the size of the 737-700 fuselage with the strengthened wings and landing gear from the larger 737-800. The tailored combination provides owners with a business jet platform having maximum range capability of 6,200 nautical miles while requiring less than 6,000 feet of runway.

Boeing Business Jets offers a wide variety of large cabin, long-range airplanes for the private jet market. The product line includes the BBJ, BBJ 2 and BBJ 3 airplane family, and Boeing widebody VIP airplanes, including the 787, 747-8, 777 and 767. Nearly 300 Boeing airplanes are in service in the VIP market.

FMI: www.boeing.com/commercial/bbj/index.html