Teterboro operator vows to fight weight proposal

It started several years ago when Boeing began selling its BBJ in numbers that the airline manufacturer never expected (25 in the first year, 82 overall si

By Mark Phelps

October 8, 2007

It started several years ago when Boeing began selling its BBJ in numbers that the airline manufacturer never expected (25 in the first year, 82 overall since its inception in 1996). Though bizliners are not a new concept, the BBJ stirred some issues that were mostly dormant at North American airports. Now, the prospect of landing 171,000-pound-mtow BBJs at what have been exclusively general aviation airports has opened a barrel of political snakes–the poisonous kind.

At the core of the snakepit is Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, the closest general aviation airport to Manhattan. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the business jet mecca, has come out against allowing BBJs into Teterboro, claiming that the airport’s 30-year-old 100,000-pound weight limit should stand. Boeing has objected, claiming that the weight limit is based on unsound engineering and its motivation has more to do with winning votes than preserving concrete.

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