Borge Boeskov, the Icelandic-born father of the Boeing Business Jet, died on June 9 after a lengthy illness, one day shy of his 69th birthday. Apart from a brief stint as v-p of sales and marketing with Mitsubishi Aircraft in Texas when the Japanese manufacturer was introducing the Diamond business jet (later Beechjet and now Hawker 400XP), Boeskov spent his entire career with Boeing, joining the jetliner manufacturer in 1965 soon after receiving his degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Minnesota. He retired two years ago after 37 years with the company.
In the business aviation segment of the industry, Boeskov is best remembered for bringing the Boeing Business Jet into being. After a dinner with General Electric CEO Jack Welch, former Boeing chairman Phil Condit conveyed to Boeskov the GE executive’s complaint that the 737-600 he was using as a business jet did not offer enough range. Condit asked Boeskov if he could do better, and a week later Boeskov had an answer: mate the 737-700 fuselage with the 737-800 wing for more range (belly tanks helped, too), and thus was born the partnership between the two industrial giants that created the BBJ.
