Boeing Business Jets
Bizliners, or commercial airliners converted for business air travel use, are the 800-pound gorillas of the private jet world. The extremes range from Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s never-completed ode to aircraft excess, a sprawling Airbus A380 that was to be equipped with everything from a concert hall to a stable for livestock, to Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergei Brin’s Boeing 767-200, which was purchased for a song and transformed into a flying office. These commercial jets, transformed into palaces or spartan corporate workspaces, are among the most notorious—and misunderstood—players in this high-flying microcosm.
The truth about bizliners lies somewhere between those two fabled aircraft. Often dismissed for their bulk, many of these large-bodied jets actually offer two to three times more cabin volume than top private aircraft from Bombardier, Dassault, or Gulfstream while displacing similar footprints. Their aura of extravagance can also be misleading, as commercially designed planes are associated with reliability because they fly far so regularly. Additionally, bizliners not only hold more residual value because they are rarer than standard private jets, they command a premium in the charter space, recouping more cash for owners during downtime.
Despite its plus-sized presence, the bizliner segment constitutes a tiny slice of the market—a low double-digit number of the 700 or so private jets sold every year. Here are our favorites from this small but noteworthy population.
-
BBJ 777-9
Image Credit: Boeing Business Jets Based on the world’s largest twin-engine jet, the latest edition of the Boeing Business Jet, the 777-9, a variant of the 777X, incorporates technology like composite wings which offer a feature that’s both game changing and space saving: The wingtips fold at the ends for easier parking and storage. The 777-9 is also remarkable for its first-in-class capability of linking any two cities in the world without refueling, with a world-shrinking total range of 11,025 nautical miles.
-
BBJ 737 MAX
Image Credit: Boeing Business Jets While Boeing’s 737 MAX suffered a global backlash following two tragic incidents, revisions to the aircraft’s cockpit have paved the runway for a successful continuation to the model’s half-century-old lineage. Living up its status as the longest-range, non-widebody business jet in its class, the Boeing Business Jet 737 MAX can fly up to 15 hours or 6,600 nautical miles, linking it to global hubs like Geneva and Singapore.
-
Embraer Lineage 1000E
Image Credit: Embraer Embraer’s Lineage 1000E bizliner configuration divides its cabin into 5 zones for a maximum of 19 passengers, offering a range of up to 4,600 nautical miles. The Brazilian-built aircraft also offers a compelling value proposition compared to the larger, longer-range options from BBJ and ACJ.
-
ACJ TwoTwenty
Image Credit: Airbus Corporate Jets Airbus Corporate Jet’s new ACJ220, a personalized version of the A220, offers up to 5,650 nautical miles of range for up to 19 passengers, and a cabin that can be configured into six zones, with pre-configured setups reducing cost and streamlining the build process. The single-aisle plane offers a spacious leg up on the large private jets it competes with. For comparison, its available 55-inch cinema screen is about the size of a bed on a smaller aircraft, while its cabin can accommodate a California King bed. The first of the ACJ220s was delivered last year while three more are in completion.
-
BBJ 787 Dreamliner
Image Credit: Boeing Business Jets Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner revolutionized commercial travel thanks to its composite construction, which enabled cabins to be pressurized to lower altitudes with higher humidity levels, and a flexible wing design that enhances efficiency. The 787’s expansive interior is ultra-comfortable, an excellent attribute considering its 9,945 miles of nautical range. Helping ease passengers into new time zones are dimmable electro-chromatic windows which control cabin lighting, thereby smoothing shifts in circadian rhythms.
-
ACJ 350
Image Credit: Airbus Corporate Jets Airbus Corporate Jet’s massive ACJ 350 can carry 25 passengers a globetrotting 11,100 nautical miles, with a cabin that in commercial form crams up to 366 passengers into a similar space. The composite-bodied jet offers 25 percent lower fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions compared to comparable aircraft; plus, it’s stately enough to serve as a presidential aircraft.