Airliner

A BBJ is a Boeing 737 airframe finished as a private aircraft: 19 to 50 passengers in a cabin with bedrooms, a conference room, lounges and full galleys instead of 180 airline seats. It is airliner size, range and redundancy, arranged around a passenger list instead of a fare structure.

Sports teams, touring productions, corporate boards moving with staff, government delegations and large family groups. The common thread is a group too large for a heavy jet that still needs to move on its own schedule, work en route and arrive together.

Expect roughly $15,000 to $25,000 per flight hour depending on the aircraft and routing, quoted per trip rather than per seat. For 30 or 40 travelers on a long leg, the per-person arithmetic gets surprisingly rational against last-minute premium airline fares. Every Peak quote is one all-inclusive number.

The BBJ 737 MAX we feature covers more than 6,000 nautical miles nonstop, which holds 12-hour legs: New York to the Gulf, London to the West Coast, or any transatlantic pairing with fuel to spare. Earlier BBJs manage somewhat less but still cross oceans without drama.

A BBJ needs airline-length runways, so the 4,000-foot resort strips a light jet enjoys are out. In practice that means major and secondary airports with private terminal handling, which still keeps you clear of the main terminal. We plan arrival airports around the aircraft early, not after the fact.

Days, not hours. Positioning, augmented crews, catering for a large group and any international permits all take runway in the calendar, and event weeks tighten availability further. Two weeks is comfortable; more is better. If the dates are soft, start the conversation anyway and we will hold the plan lightly.