Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

New Boeing Business Jets chief David Longridge expects his division to mark a strong 2015, following a year in which the organization delivered 10 and sold 13 aircraft, including four widebodies. The company is on pace with deliveries this year, handing over a BBJ and two widebodies (777-300 and 787-8) in the first quarter. Several more are in completions.


While deliveries continue, new sales also have remained strong this year. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised,” said Longridge, a 21-year Boeing veteran who late last year succeeded Steve Taylor at the helm of the BBJ division.


Longridge returned to the organization that he first joined during its infancy in 1996 and served as a sales director for nearly two years. After concentrating on the airline market for a number of years in the interim, Longridge is happy to jump back into the business jet arena. “It is one of the most fascinating corners of the aviation world,” he said. The airline market is financially driven, Longridge said. While that’s also true for business aviation, he noted another aspect of the market. “It’s one of the few areas where there is a sheer unbridled joy.”


He notes that BBJ has changed substantially since when he first departed. When Longridge left, there were two products: the 737-based BBJ and the BBJ 2. Now, the division offers 11 products representing the spectrum of Boeing’s commercial product line. For Longridge, the expansion is a welcome change. Noting his time as sales director in the late 1990s, he pointed to the “frustration I had before, when people would want to buy widebodies and I couldn’t help them.”


In business aviation, people have very specific needs, and the product line must support that, Longridge said. He credited the varied product line with helping promote the uptick in sales last year. The launch of the “Max” helped, he said, as well as customer interest in the 787 and 777. Longridge is pleased by the balance of sales.


While interest has been strong in widebodies, the 737-based BBJ is “what butters our bread,” he said. Of the 228 VIP aircraft sold, the BBJ accounts for 164. The push to fill varied needs is also helping drive interest in a BBJ Combi that can serve double duty for cargo and personnel transport. The company announced during ABACE in April that it would study the potential for such a product, based on the BBJ C, a cargo variant with a cargo door. Longridge said such a product could reach market within a couple of years–if the interest is there. But the company is going to hold off on a push toward development until it gets a launch customer.


The Combi would cater towards a government or business operation operating heavy machinery that needs to be transported along with a support team. He cited mining and oil-and-gas industries as possibilities. Longridge added that many customers who have looked at the cargo variant of the BBJ have asked about the potential of a combi configuration. Longridge does not expect a large customer base for such a configuration, but does think it would serve the needs of some customers.


While offering varied configurations, Longridge notes that the customer must dictate the design of the interior. While competitor Airbus is offering certain pre-set configuration designs, Longridge doubted that Boeing would duplicate that strategy. “I firmly believe when you are ready to spend that much money on an airplane, you should be able to [specify an individually designed] interior rather than be fed one.” He adds he can understand the approach of offering set configuration designs, but said that Boeing plans to take a different approach.


Boeing has been steadily building up completion capacity to accommodate both the wide- and narrow-bodies. The company has a network of 18 authorized completion centers capable of accommodating the 737-based BBJ and 10 that can handle widebodies. A number of the centers have work under way. Boeing expects that four 747s will come out the pipeline this year and one or two 787s. “This is going to be a great year for big aircraft,” he said.

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

Boeing Business Jets confident as it studies Combi

Last year the company sold 13 aircraft, including four widebodies. This year it will deliver four 747s and a 787, or two.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Curt Epstein

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Phenom and Praetor backlog now stands at $7.6 billion

Embraer Executive Jets Reaches New Backlog High

Jessica Reed

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

Aftermarket growth bolsters revenues as manufacturer continues post-strike recovery

Textron Aviation 1Q Jet Deliveries Dip, T-props Surge

Chad Trautvetter

Company hits on all cylinders as it ramps up G700 deliveries and prepares for G800 service entry

Gulfstream Deliveries, Revenues, and Earnings Soar in Q1

G700 has already contributed 80 speed records to Gulfstream’s fleetwide 700 total

G700 Flight Brings Gulfstream Fleet to 700th Speed Record 

Charles Alcock

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

A preliminary full-scale example of the planned S-A2 model achieved its first tethered flight on March 1 

Supernal Confirms First Flight of eVTOL Tech Demonstrator

News and developments about aircraft engines, including turbofan, turboprop, turboshaft and piston.

News about simulators and training procedures, as well as workforce.

The electric-powered two-seater has made 15 flights since early December 2024

Aura Aero’s Integral E Electric Aerobatics Model Achieves Inverted Flight

Charlotte Bailey

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

EBACE 2015

More In Aircraft

Embraer Executive Jets Reaches New Backlog High

Phenom and Praetor backlog now stands at $7.6 billion

Textron Aviation 1Q Jet Deliveries Dip, T-props Surge

Aftermarket growth bolsters revenues as manufacturer continues post-strike recovery

Gulfstream Deliveries, Revenues, and Earnings Soar in Q1

Company hits on all cylinders as it ramps up G700 deliveries and prepares for G800 service entry

G700 Flight Brings Gulfstream Fleet to 700th Speed Record

G700 has already contributed 80 speed records to Gulfstream’s fleetwide 700 total

Supernal Confirms First Flight of eVTOL Tech Demonstrator

A preliminary full-scale example of the planned S-A2 model achieved its first tethered flight on March 1

Aura Aero’s Integral E Electric Aerobatics Model Achieves Inverted Flight

The electric-powered two-seater has made 15 flights since early December 2024

Airbus Will Complete eVTOL Flight Tests Despite Program Pause

Flight testing has been moved to an undisclosed location to allow more space for the work

Osaka World Expo Opens With SkyDrive eVTOL’s Debut Flight

It can carry a pilot and two passengers up to 25 miles.

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN