Boeing aims to shorten cabin completion times for $100 million BBJ Select

Boeing Business Jets is targeting a shortened cabin completion process for its BBJ Select aircraft, using preconfigured interiors that are intended to reduce the time and cost of outfitting a private 737.

The program, first announced in 2023, is offered on the BBJ 737-7 and 737-8 and gives customers a choice of cabin layouts at a price of approximately $100 million, said Boeing Business Jets Director of Marketing Chris Shindle at NBAA-BACE 2026 in Las Vegas.

The first aircraft will take a bit longer to complete as Boeing refines the process. Shindle said he expects those projects to require about 24 to 30 months, with the process becoming faster as the completion team gains experience. The goal is to eventually reduce completion time to 18 months, he said.

BBJ Select addresses one of the biggest differences between buying an airliner-based business jet and other private aircraft: the work required to turn an empty fuselage into a finished cabin.

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BBJs are built on Boeing’s regular commercial production lines, with some provisions for auxiliary fuel tanks, but leave the factory without passenger interiors. They then fly to a completion center for installation of the cabin and other equipment.

A fully customized interior requires design and engineering work specific to the customer. With Select, buyers choose from cabin sections that have already been engineered, reducing the work needed for each aircraft.

“That shortens the delivery time, reduces the cost, simplifies the product as well,” Shindle said.

Greenpoint Technologies handles the design work, while Aloft AeroArchitects installs the auxiliary fuel tanks and completes the cabin at its completion center in Georgetown, Delaware. Performing those tasks concurrently helps reduce the overall completion time, Shindle said.

Boeing developed the Select layouts by studying how previous BBJ owners had configured their aircraft. Recurring preferences for lounges and other spaces became the basis for the standardized cabin modules, which Boeing then reviewed with customers.

The result is approximately 216 interior combinations, with three color schemes ranging from light neutral shades to richer browns and dark navy blues. Customers can select different shades within those schemes.

Buyers who want a fully customized cabin can still choose that approach on any of the BBJ 737 models, Shindle said. Select is aimed at customers who place greater emphasis on price and a quicker delivery timeline.

The BBJ fleet now numbers approximately 250 aircraft, with 273 cumulative orders since the business was launched in 1996, he said.

Certification of the commercial 737-7 in August was an important milestone for the business, completing the underlying aircraft approvals for the three models in the BBJ MAX family. Boeing now offers the BBJ 737-7, -8 and -9.

The commercial 737-10 received FAA certification on October 20, 2026, but Boeing has not yet decided whether to offer a BBJ version.

Among larger aircraft, Boeing is seeing particular interest in the 777X from the Middle East, where widebody business jets have long been popular with government and private customers.

Shindle sees the aircraft becoming a successor to aging VIP 747s and 777s, with the cabin space and range needed for lengthy international trips.

“We see the 777X as being the next flagship head of state airplane,” he said.

Boeing’s immediate BBJ focus is on the 777-9. A longer-range 777-8 remains a possibility, but its later availability makes it a more distant prospect, Shindle said.

The company also offers BBJ versions of the 787-8, -9 and -10. Shindle said widebody aircraft availability extends into the early 2030s, reflecting current production rates and the time required to build the aircraft.

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