Boeing Business Jets didn’t bring a jet this week to the LABACE static display due to space constraints but it is exhibiting—with company president Joe Benson in attendance for the first time at the Latin American show. At the booth, a model of a BBJ with a transparent side shows how much can be done with the extra space provided when turning an airliner into a business jet.

Benson said he was “eager and interested” to attend his first LABACE and to highlight the BBJ’s benefits to “customers in places we haven’t been for a while.” He added that Boeing Business Jets is “seeing an uptick in principals at these shows” since the pandemic. “Part of the reason we are here is that we see these shows as a good use of resources.”

Interest is growing in the BBJ and the various models available from the BBJ Max to the BBJ787 and the largest BBJ, the in-development BBJ777X. The 777X, he noted, can fly between any two cities in the world nonstop.

Benson described BBJs as being especially suited to heads of state, who have special requirements such as the size of the party that travels with them and security needs. The jets offer a built-in airstair, freeing the aircraft from dependence on ground support for boarding. Although larger aircraft generally need longer runways than traditional business jets, this tends not to be a concern for customers who own BBJs. Pressed for a number on how many heads of state are actually potential customers for a BBJ, Benson stated that the need is “quite common.”

On the support front, Benson highlighted Boeing’s global network of fleet support, which is available to BBJ operators, and Boeing’s dedicated on-call team. “If you have problems, Boeing is there to help,” he said. He also noted the advantage of scale—because the BBJ shares “the same parts as the Sevens flying around the globe,” he said, “parts are actually cheaper.”