A multi-engine, instrument rated pilot, James Wynbrandt has been an AIN and Business Jet Traveler contributor since 2003. His in-depth reporting and insightful features have won more than a dozen editorial honors, including two National Business Aviation Association Gold Wing Awards (2019; 2021), and his articles have also appeared in the New York Times, Barron’s, Fortune, Forbes, and Smithsonian Air &amp; Space. He has flown his Mooney M20K 252 on assignments throughout North and Central America and the Caribbean. Wynbrandt is also the author of Flying High (Wiley &amp; Sons), a biography of Jet Blue founder David Neeleman, as well as histories, references works, and books on a variety of other topics from major publishers. He lives in New York City.

Contributor - Business Aviation

James Wynbrandt

JetBed is showcasing at NBAA 2018 its lightweight, portable beds that can transform a business aircraft club seating area into an expansive, completely flat bed.

 


“My wife hates to fly and loves to sleep,” said longtime Citation pilot and JetBed CEO and president Gerald “Gary” Bosstick, explaining the genesis of the product. “Most light jets don’t have berthing seats, so I decided I’d invent something to make my wife more comfortable, and make my own life more comfortable.”

 


When he finished perfecting and patented the first JetBed in 2006, Bosstick took the invention to Cessna. “I think they gave me an appointment just because I was a customer,” he said. A few hours later, Cessna was Bosstick’s customer.

 


Qualcomm was JetBed’s first big corporate client, according to Bosstick, and today, “Virtually all Fortune 500 companies have our product,” with total sales to date "in the thousands,” he said.

 


The JetBed system has quick-fill Inflatable bags that occupy the floor space between opposing club seats—or for a double bed, between the opposing seats and the aisle across from a divan—creating a flat base for an inflatable mattress topped by fabric mattress pads to lie on. JetBeds “offer comfort comparable to five-star hotel beds,” according to the San Diego, California company. A double bed can be made up or stowed in three minutes or less, and the single even more quickly.

 


At its convention center display (Booth 838), JetBed has large monitors showing videos of the product, including a new animation that demonstrates the double bed set up;&nbsp;and there’s also a conference group mockup on display Bosstick and his team can use to explain JetBed to visitors.

 


As portable equipment, JetBeds are exempt from FAA regulations, but nonetheless meet or exceed requirements such as FAR-25-853a for flammability, Bosstick said.

 


JetBeds weigh about 16 to 20 pounds, and the inflator pump and other equipment about 15 pounds.

 


A JetBed for a CJ1 costs $6,295 and prices “go upwards, way up” from there, Bosstick said. A double bed he’s developing for the G550 will be about $32,500. But having an OEM install a double bed as an option on a large- cabin jet can add hundreds of thousands to the price tag, he noted, making JetBeds a bargain.

 


Expanding into the accessories market, JetBed is currently in negotiations with French and Italian companies to provide bedding “that will meet our quality expectations,” Bosstick said. “Everybody asks where to get linens.” He’s now in the process of product testing, “and we may have the ability to sell some things, certainly by NBAA next year,” he said.

News and developments about everything that goes into the cabin of an aircraft, from floor coverings to headliners, with a special emphasis on in-flight entertainment, communications and other electronics for passengers. If it is in the cabin of an aircraft, it’s covered here.

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