FIRST LOOK BOEING BBJ SELECT
The easier way to a BBJ
With the BBJ Select, Boeing Business Jets, ALOFT AeroArchitects and Greenpoint Technologies are offering a cheaper and simpler way to get a BBJ. Words: Alasdair Whyte
FIRST LOOK BOEING BBJ SELECT
The easier way to a BBJ
With the BBJ Select, Boeing Business Jets, ALOFT AeroArchitects and Greenpoint Technologies are offering a cheaper and simpler way to get a BBJ. Words: Alasdair Whyte
BBJ SELECT
GETTING A COMPANY to renovate your kitchen sounds simple. In theory you go to a shop, choose the flooring, surface and cupboards, and then someone installs it. The reality is different. You have many decisions to make.
After debating the pros and cons of taps, door handles and dado rails (which are not extinct), you then must decide on the wood. To line the drawers. Some people love this process. Others do not.
Choosing the interior for an 884 square foot/82m2 Boeing Business Jet 737-7 is the equivalent of outfitting a whole apartment. Traditionally buyers need to negotiate the aircraft purchase, choose a specialist designer and a completion house. And then decide what they want.
Boeing’s new BBJ Select product is designed for people who want an aircraft with a streamlined design process.
It is also the most economical way to get a new Boeing Business Jet. The manufacturer no longer publishes list prices for its aircraft and is not publicly disclosing the price of a BBJ Select. A bespoke BBJ typically costs around $115m to $125m. Corporate Jet Investor estimates that a BBJ Select is about $95m, although Boeing has not confirmed this. It is also faster. The first BBJ Select aircraft is available for a 2026 delivery.
Each BBJ Select is split into six zones. Two of these are fixed. At the front, all BBJ Select aircraft will have a crew rest area, a VIP lavatory and galley. In the rear, all BBJ Select aircraft will have a VIP queen-size bed and shower suite.
Buyers have flexibility with the other four zones. Boeing calculates that there are 144 different layout options in total. This means that it is likely that there will never be two identical aircraft.
The other four zones give customers the flexibility to choose between lounges, private rooms (possibly with a queen size bed) or different seat options.
With BBJ Select, buyers sign a single contract with Boeing Business Jets. They then pick from a range of modular options with ALOFT AeroArchitects and Greenpoint Technologies completing the aircraft. As the official auxiliary fuel tank supplier for BBJs, ALOFT has worked on every BBJ 737.
There are then three colour palettes: serene (beige, creams and off-whites), midnight (dark blues) and earthbound (browns, tans and gold) to choose from.
“The goal with the palettes is that each customer will find a palette that speaks to them, but then there are further customisation options and lots of opportunity to dial in interior style,” Drew Gough, Americas head of sales, Boeing Business Jets tells CJI.
This may sound too simple for you. Boeing Business Jets recognises that BBJ Select is not for every customer. Boeing is continuing to sell green BBJ737-7s and will help customers find completion houses for bespoke projects. Have fun choosing the taps.
BBJ INTERIOR ONE
LOUNGE: COLOUR STYLE SERENE
This view shows three combined zones – the forward lounge, mid lounge and aft lounge – combined to create a very large space. The view is towards the front of the aircraft where the kitchen and VIP lavatory are located. Buyers can choose to have six pod style lie-flat seats similar to those travelling on an airline first class at the front.
BBJ INTERIOR TWO
STUDY: COLOUR STYLE EARTHBOUND
This option shows a private office. It does not run the full width of the plane, but instead includes a sliding door which opens on a corridor allowing access to the front section without needing to enter the state room. The room could also be used as a second bedroom or as a movie room.
BBJ INTERIOR THREE
BEDROOM: STYLE MIDNIGHT
Nearly every Boeing Business Jet has an ensuite stateroom at the rear of the aircraft. So it was an obvious decision on all BBJ Select aircraft. The manufacturer says that most passengers like sleeping with their head in line with the aircraft.
