The sale of large-cabin business jets is successfully surmounting the economic ebb-tide. PRICE IS NOT DETERRING THE ORDERS for these top-end corporate jets.

For a company engaged in transnational commerce, a business jet with intercontinental capability enhances the ability to react efficiently to the company’s needs. When moving key employees to deal with an overseas incident – be it a crisis or an opportunity, the tyranny of uncertain flights and hub airports can be overthrown by point-to-point on-demand service in a corporate airliner.

The price of acquiring and operating such a aircraft is not cheap. New top-end large-cabin jets will cost US $50-70 million, outfitted for duty, with upper mid-size airplanes priced approximately half that amount. Bigger is, nevertheless, better, for flying globally. When configuring a cockpit and cabin for long-range trips, often 8-12 hours in length, more attention has to be given to the passengers’ comfort, including added galley space, lavatory capacity, and just plain open areas in which to take a stroll. Crew members likewise need more room, and a rest area has to be provided for relief personnel. And, the necessarily larger fuel tankage and engine size accompanying a bigger airplane is a direct result of the longer-range mission.

Sales of large-cabin business jets now seem to be successfully surmounting the economic ebb. Price is not deterring orders for top-end corporate jets, whose worth is considered of inestimable value when there’s a need to be met. Purveyors and outfitters of big-cabin business aircraft have kept full order books during the recession, as their customers equip for competitive advantage.

Development History

The history of long-range, larger-cabin business jets begins in the mid-1980s, with Gulfstream IV using Rolls-Royce’s Tay turbofan engines. Even though G-IIIs and Falcon 50s were hopping across oceans and continental landmasses before that, the G-IV was a better answer, delivering a range of over 4,400 nautical miles. From that point, the airliner-size airframes with corporate interiors—Boeing Business Jet, Airbus Corporate Jetliner and Embraer Lineage—appeared on the scene, offering even more space, and longer-range executive jet models were developed by Bombardier and Dassault to bring competition to bear.

As one examines this market, a blurring of the category line is inevitable. When does a super-midsize business jet become a large-cabin airplane, and what defines an ultra-long-range airplane? One will, of necessity, have to intermix some of the largest cabins with the smaller ones, bearing in mind that all things are relative.

Boeing Business Jets

The BBJ family is extensive, just as Boeing’s airliner offerings are widely varied. If desired, one can have any of the twin-engine Boeings, or even a 747, configured for private use. However, the 737-based BBJs are closest to the corporate business world, and will be the focus here.

The 737-based BBJs come in three sizes: the standard BBJ, developed from the 737-300; the BBJ-2, based on the 737-800; and the long-body BBJ-3, which originated as a 737-900ER. A convertible BBJ-C with a large swing-up cargo door was shown at the 2009 NBAA show, offering flexible loading for a combination of passenger and cargo uses. Powered by CFM56-7 engines of 26,400 pounds thrust, the BBJ’s executive interior easily accommodates 8-15 passengers, and some 50 airline-class seats can be installed for corporate shuttle purposes.

Airbus Corporate Jetliners

Directly competing with Boeing’s BBJ division, the ACJ series from EADS Airbus can likewise extend to four-engine, widebody airliner airframes, with the Airbus A318 Elite giving a close match to the 737-based BBJ. The slightly larger ACJ came from the A319, and the even-longer A320 Prestige originated as the A320.

The A318 short-haul airliner was created from the A319 with the elimination of three fuselage frames. It’s often called the “baby bus” in airline service. Even so, the corporate A318 Elite offers an airliner-size interior, including a taller cabin without the intrusion of overhead baggage bins, at a price comparable to traditional large-cabin business jets. The A318 Elite is powered by CFM56-5B9-P engines of 23,300 lbs thrust and can seat 14-18 passengers in corporate use.