Boeing Business Jets (Chalet 7) celebrated the flyaway of the first BBJ Max on Monday. According to FlightAware, the BBJ Max 8, registered as N329BJ, departed Seattle Boeing Field yesterday at 9:33 a.m. PDT and landed at 5:15 p.m. EDT in Georgetown, Delaware, where it will be outfitted with auxiliary fuel tanks.

"We are excited to see the first BBJ Max come to life and fly through the development milestones. In the past few weeks, the airplane has achieved factory rollout, first flight, multiple certifications, and now flyaway," said Greg Laxton, head of Boeing Business Jets.

The BBJ Max 8's auxiliary fuel tanks will allow the aircraft to be flown up to 6,640 nm. Georgetown-based Aloft AeroArchitects installs PATS auxiliary fuel systems that are used on BBJs.

The BBJ Max family is based on the new 737 Max series and is designed to fly farther and at a lower operating cost than its predecessors. "The BBJ Max will be able to connect distant cities like a widebody commercial jet. It's one of the reasons why this airplane outsold the competition four to one last year," said Laxton.

Comlux previously said it was awarded the cabin completions contract for the first-to-be delivered BBJ Max 8. After auxiliary fuel tanks are installed at Aloft, the green airplane is planned to arrive at Comlux’s Indianapolis facility in the fourth quarter, with delivery of the fully outfitted BBJ Max 8 to the customer in fall 2019.

The BBJ Max features a lower cabin altitude, integrated airstairs, and other amenities. Orders have been placed for nearly 20 BBJ Maxs, including the BBJ Max 7, BBJ Max 8, and BBJ Max 9 models.