Airbus & Boeing Going Head to Head in Biggest of Big Business Jet Sectors

A funny thing happened when business jets got to be as large and expensive-upwards of $40 million a copy-as the Gulfstream V and Bombardier Global Express.

Boeing stepped in and said, in effect, "If you're going to spend that kind of money, why fool around? Get a 737." And the Boeing Business Jet was born.

European rival Airbus, not to be outdone, launched the Airbus Corporate Jetliner, or ACJ, based on its A319 airliner.

Both airframers added extra fuel capacity for better range, and although their offerings still don't have the legs of a Gulfstream V or Global Express, they have room, lots of it-enough for full-size bedrooms and showers so that the executive on the go can skip the hotel part of traveling altogether.

The rivals' always entertaining, often edifying, and seemingly endless one-upmanship, once the exclusive province of the bi-annual international air shows, is now a regular feature of the annual NBAA gala in the U.S., complementing the continuing carping of Gulfstream and Bombardier.

Boeing last month won FAA approval of winglets for the BBJ. The performance-enhancing add-ons, developed via a joint effort of Boeing and Seattle-based Aviation Partners (which now claims to have commitments which will bring to more than half the total number of Gulfstream IIs using the technology) boost BBJ takeoff capability and range by nearly 5% (a more aggressive design to match the 7% gains winglets give the G-II would have called for a prohibitively costly strengthening of the BBJ's outer wing).

The winglets are now standard on the BBJ and are retrofittable to earlier models at a cost of about $800,000. Boeing has also added a Rockwell-Flight Dynamics head-up display as standard BBJ cockpit equipment.

The company as of late this past summer had delivered 46 BBJs for completion and claimed 16 in service.

Airbus comes to NBAA with an ACJ order total of 18 (four have been delivered), and the expectation of more orders to be disclosed here. Keeping with the traditions of its rivalry with Boeing, Airbus says that while its numbers are more modest, they are also more realistic. Airbus claims it has done a better job of arranging for completions, and is thus less likely to keep customers waiting. While the first two ACJs were late, the second two were on time.

ACJ completions are available via Ozark Aircraft Systems of Bentonville, AK; Associated Air Center of Dallas, TX; Jet Aviation of Basel, Switzerland; and Germany's Lufthansa Technik. All offer half-a-dozen standard interior designs, and a wealth of options. Costs can vary from a basic $5 million to double that.

Airbus ACJ customers range from an unnamed head of state to Airbus partner DaimlerChrysler, which uses its aircraft for a regular shuttle between Stuttgart and Detroit. There will be eight ACJs in service by the end of the year, predicts Airbus ACJ VP Richard Gaona.

Airbus notes that the ACJ is certified as an airliner, which the company says boosts its residual value. An A319 sold as an ACJ will retain 76% of its residual value in 2010, and 53% in 2020, Gaona reckons. Airbus also claims the ACJ to be the only business jet certified for automatic Category 3b landings in poor visibility. The European manufacturer has an ACJ maintenance deal with United Airlines, a major operator of A319 and A320s.

Boeing comes to NBAA 2000 with the winglet-sporting BBJ it showed at this past July's Farnborough International Air Show, and a surprise tally of half-a-dozen orders for the BBJ II, four of them from Middle East customers (who often opt for Airbus).

The BBJ has a 110-foot 737-700 fuselage and a 737-800 wing. The BBJ 2 has the 737-800's 129-foot fuselage, affording 25% more interior space and twice the luggage space of the BBJ. First flight of the BBJ 2 is slated for February. Boeing expects to build eight in 2001.

The BBJ is priced at $37.5 million and the BBJ 2 at $44.5 million in 2000 dollars. That doesn't include interior completion (figure at least another $4 million), but does include full avionics package and head-up guidance, auxiliary fuel tanks, and winglets, advises BBJ marketing VP Lee Monson.

Boeing has contracted with Delaware's DeCrane Aircraft Systems Integration for installation of as many as nine range-enhancing auxiliary fuel tanks. Aircraft then go to one of five U.S. completion centers, or to Jet Aviation or Lufthansa Technik-firms that do Airbus ACJ completions as well.

As for a BBJ 3, to be based on the 757, Boeing's not yet saying. "BBJ 3 is a not an immediate program, but if there is a market demand for that size airplane, we will be able to respond relatively quickly," Monson told Show News. It's clear that if there's a customer, there'll be an airplane.