Business

Boeing introduces long haul business jet

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI APRIL 10. The Boeing Company has introduced its improvised Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) for long range executive travel. A recently delivered jet flew the farthest distance yet for a Business Jet when it flew 6,854 nautical miles from Seattle to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 14 hours, 12 minutes. Business Jets are the new concepts being introduced in India by aircraft manufacturers for VVIP travel.

BBJ Chief Pilot, Mike Hewett, flew south of the Great Circle Route initially heading northeast toward Canada, travelling over the southern tip of Greenland, northern Scotland, Italy, the Mediterranean Sea, Egypt and the Red Sea en route to Jeddah. ``We were able to update the wind information through satellite data link and the computer was right on, predicting we would land with 5,900 pounds or 1 hour 30 minutes of fuel remaining and that's exactly what we did. With Polar navigation, the BBJ has the ability to fly the most time and fuel efficient routes,'' Mr. Hewett said.

This is the first BBJ to be certified under the Federal Aviation Regulations allowing charter operations. The airplane is owned by a company called BBJ One and is operated by BBJ Charters which specialises in long range passenger charters and air medical transports (air ambulance). This Boeing has been flown non-stop for 15 hours 10 minutes within the U.S. landing with one hour of fuel remaining. The "cold soak'' flight was to check the condition of the airplane's interior under the coldest possible conditions.

Boeing Business Jets was launched in 1996 as a joint venture between Boeing and General Electric. Designed for corporate and VIP applications, the BBJ is a high performance derivative of the next-generation 737-400. The BBJ2is based on the 737-800 and has 25 per cent more cabin space and twice the cargo space of the BBJ.

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