Aviation Week Show News - November 11, 2007 - (Page 17)

BUSINESS AVIATION D U B A I 2 0 07 VIPs Can’t Get Enough Boeing 787s He adds that if a customer orders one of the next available 787 VIP models and has a need for an aircraft sooner than the delivery date, the business jet unit of the company will keep an eye out for an earlier delivery date if a slot opens up. But airlines will also be trying to grab any delivery positions that open up, so there is no guarantee Colburn can snag one for one of his customers. All 787 VIP customers so far are individuals, not governments. They include people in the Middle East, Europe and Asia including one buyer in Russia and one in Hong Kong. The BBJ, BBJ2 and BBJ3, all 737NG models, are sold as part of a joint partnership with When it comes to the 787 VIP he General Electric formed could sell ten more if only they were in 1996 when Jack Welch was CEO of GE. But the available in the next three years. agreement doesn’t cover —Chuck Colburn, marketing director, BBJ and VIP jets, Boeing the Boeing widebodies which are sold as VIP modexpensive BBJs (737s). Boeing sold 14 BBJs els, not called BBJs. Another attraction of the 787 VIP is that it costs about in 2006. Chuck Colburn, marketing director for BBJs $100 million and VIP jets for Boeing, says when it comes to less than a the 787 VIP he could sell ten more if only they VIP 747. Boeing’s were available in the next three years. But the VIP next available delivery position is 2016 and the total company has no plans to change its production sales, includplan which only calls for the delivery of two 787 ing sales of VIPs per year. At $150 to nearly $190 million or earlier jets no more for a green 787 VIP, ten aircraft represent longer in pro$2 billion or so in business that Boeing can’t duction, are book. Colburn notes the 787 is proving popular 318 aircraft of which 246 are still in service. Six for business aviation use because of its of these are 707s, 57 are 727s, 38 classic 737s, 10,000 naut. mi. range for long non-stop flights 94 BBJs, 24 747s, 14 757s, 12 767s and just three 777s. The 777-200LR VIP has the longest and its “fairly fast” cruise speed of Mach 0.85. Colburn says the company was “a bit sur- range of about 11,000 naut. mi. and costs more prised” by how quickly demand has grown for than the 787. But it is available much sooner— the 787 VIP and he believes 50 to 60 of these air- with the first slot available in 2012. BBJs are not craft will be sold over the life of the program. available until the second half of 2013. The demand for Boeing 787 VIP models is so strong that the company could sell nearly $2 billion more of them if only they were available in the next few years. But this was out of the question even before Boeing’s recent announcement of a six-month delay in the first 787 deliveries to airlines. It’s not just the narrow body BBJs that are selling briskly for Boeing’s business jet operation, but also the widebody “VIP” models—the 777-200LR VIP, the 747 VIP and the 787 VIP. The business jet operation of Boeing sold nine widebody VIP aircraft last year and seven so far this year. And the nine widebodies sold in 2006 racked up $2.2 billion in sales compared to just $794 million for the more numerous but less Slot availability for widebody VIP aircraft and BBJs isn’t likely to change. Even though the business aviation arm of Boeing Commercial Airplanes has sold $3 billion worth of aircraft this year, the company has been through the process of changing the production rate before only to find that the market is turning down. “We are very cautious,” Colburn says. —David Hughes Jet Aviation Promoting 787 Interiors; Wins the First Three Completions Jet Aviation has won the battle to complete the first VVIP Boeing 787s with luxury interiors. The Basel, Switzerland-based company plans to start the first of three 18-month completions of 787 VVIP aircraft in 2011 for an unnamed customer “in the Gulf region.” There are currently nine unidentified customers listed as “VIPs” who have ordered Boeing 787s, according to Boeing.com. 17 November 11, 2007 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://Boeing.com http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

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