Warszawa 2017-11-29
325 Section 15.11.2017r.
Boeing Company B.737-800 BBJ2 in Poland.
History pending delivery of the first B.737 for VIP transportation.
New B.737-800 BBJ2.
On June 30, 2016, the Council of Ministers adopted Resolution No. 73 on establishing a multi-annual program "Securing the air transport of the most important people in the country (VIP)". The beginning was the real allocation of national defense expenditure, determined by the level of 2% of GDP (gross domestic product) from the previous year. Not only that, it turned out that not only funds from the Ministry of National Defense, but also a separate targeted purchase will be used for the purchase of planes. For the years 2016-2021, an amount of PLN 1.7 billion has been reserved for the purchase of aircraft. On December 15, 2016, the Council of Ministers allocated an additional PLN 540 million to the purchase of medium-sized VIP aircraft in the budget of the Ministry of National Defense for 2016.
On August 31, 2016, the Ministry of National Defense announced the commencement of two procedures for the purchase of two "small" and three "medium" aircraft for VIP transport. At that time, the acquisition of new and used aircraft was still being considered. The Ministry of National Defense required that the aircraft used should not be older than 5 years old. Passenger compartment capacity, minumum 132 places. The delivery date is November 11, 2017. The new planes were to be of a higher standard. Take a minimum of 65 passengers on board. Delivery by 2021. The proceedings were formally announced on September 2, 2016.
Four bidders, including American and Polish companies as well as Czech-German and Polish-Slovak consortia, applied for the tender for medium-sized aircraft by October 14, 2016.
On January 10, 2017, two offers were qualified for the tender. The first was the offer of the Boeing Company concern. The second was the offer of the consortium of Glomex Military Supplies (Czech Republic) Lufthansa Technik AG (Germany). Both offers were based on Boeing B.737-800 aircraft, which is one of the most popular aircraft in the world.
The invitation to tender was issued on February 20, 2017. On March 8, 2017, an offer was received from Glomex and Boeing. Both offers were rejected on March 9, because they exceeded the planned budget and had formal and legal errors. The first offer was worth PLN 2.66 billion, and the second was PLN 3.4 billion.
At that time, the Polish side decided to use the so-called free-hand formula. On March 10, 2017, an invitation to negotiate was sent to the Boeing Company. The decision was made on the grounds that the offers only include the Boeing B.737-800 aircraft, and only the Boeing Company concern has full rights to its production, alteration, adaptation and retrofitting. Another aircraft that could meet the WTT proposed by the Ministry of National Defense was the Airbus A.319 CJ, but no company offered it.
The remaining offers were those of intermediaries; Aerospace International Group from Slovakia, The Jet Business International from Great Britain and Altenrhein Aviation AG from Switzerland. Three middlemen; from Slovakia, the UK and Switzerland, of course, challenged the decision to make a solicitation with the National Board of Appeal. On April 3, 2017, the National Appeals Chamber issued a ruling that the procurement procedure violated the principles of fair competition, but this does not affect the validity of the concluded contract. It is a fact that the National Appeals Chamber operated under time pressure, because in order for the Ministry of National Defense to use the 2016 fund, the contract had to be signed by the end of March 2017. At the beginning of July 2017, the District Court in Warsaw partially dismissed the complaint of the Ministry of National Defense and ruled that the National Appeal Chamber was right, stating that the conclusion was in violation of the law. The verdict did not affect the performance of the contract, which was also previously agreed by the National Appeals Chamber. The court also discontinued the case in relation to the appeal of the British company, which withdrew the complaint at the court stage. Therefore, it was decided that the interests of the Republic of Poland and the public interest are more important than the claims of the entities that were withdrawn from the tender.
They analyze the choice of the Boeing B.737-800, it should be mentioned that the Boeing Company concern already offered the newer Boeing B.737 MAX 8. The concern on the production line was already switching from the 737 NG to the new 737 MAX model. The problem was that the Boeing B.737 MAX 8 had to be certified by the European EASA, and the certification process was just underway. If the 737 MAX was selected, it would be in 2018 at the earliest.
The talks with the Boeing concern went very smoothly. Both sides have already negotiated with each other many times. Airplanes from the last two production series have been reserved for Poland. On March 31, 2017, the Armament Inspectorate of the Ministry of National Defense signed a contract with the Boeing Company for the delivery of three aircraft. The contract also covers maintenance and staff training. The document was signed in the presence of Deputy Minister of Defense Bartosz Kownacki: Chief of the Armament Inspectorate, Colonel Dariusz Pluta and Jon W. Lewis, Regional Director for Contracts from the Boeing Company.
First used Boeing B.737-800 with delivery in 2017. The next two are Boeing B.737-800 BBJ2 with 2020-2021 delivery. The value of the contract for the supply of B737 is USD 523.6 million (USD 523,644,900) - PLN 2.066 billion net, with tax PLN 2.5 billion.
In May 2017, the competition for the proper names of the aircraft was adjudicated. The jury chose; "Marshal Józef Piłsudski", "Roman Dmoowski", "Ignacy Jan Paderewski" - all of them are the most important figures in the history of Poland regaining independence in 1918.
In October 2017, Boeing offered to replace the first used B.737-800 with a brand new one. Interestingly, this was not related to the price increase. The contract was renegotiated at the beginning of November 2017. The proposed new Boeing B.737-86X aircraft, registration N893BA, was flown on April 13, 2017 in a 189-passenger configuration. It was intended for the Chinese low-cost "9 Air", but was not picked up until October 2017.
On October 25, 2017, the plane landed in Dinard-Pleurtuit-Saint-Malo, France. Sabena Technics repainted the plane here in the colors of the Republic of Poland. The plane received painting elements referring to the 100th anniversary of regaining independence by the Republic of Poland. On the vertical stabilizer, the image of Józef Piłsudski is placed on the left side, and Piłsudski, Daszyński, Paderweski, Korfanty, Dmowski and Witos on the right side. The side number of the aircraft is Nb 0110.
On November 15, 2017, the plane landed at Okęcie Airport. The machine was baptized. After landing at the Chopin Airport in Warsaw and after turning, in accordance with the aviation custom, through the water curtain created by airport fire brigades, it was consecrated by the field bishop of the Polish Army, Brigadier General Józef Guzdek and by the deputy of the Orthodox Military Ordinary, Rev. col. Alexius Andrejuk and the Chief Military Chaplain - Evangelical Military Bishop, Fr. bp. col. Mirosław Wola. A soldier of the Communications and IT Training Center in Zegrze, senior Oktawia Nowacka, became the godmother of the VIP Boeing B.737-800 "Józef Piłsudski", which was received on November 15, 2017 at the 1st Transport Aviation Base in Warsaw in the presence of the Minister of National Defense Antoni Macierewicz. Ms Oktawia Nowacka is a titled sportswoman; pentathlon player, winner of the World Cup, medalist of the world, European and Polish championships, and bronze medalist of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Boeing B.737-800 "Józef Piłsudski" in Poland will undergo minor changes. From a linear plane, the cabin will change to a three-class cabin: lounge, business and economy. The first lounge will be a HEAD version for 4 people, the second one for 8 people, and the third one for 120 people. After receiving the second Boeing B.737-800 BBJ2 aircraft, the first aircraft will return to the USA to be retrofitted with systems belonging to the BBJ2 version. This way, all three planes will be BBJ2.
At the moment, the remaining two planes are to arrive in Poland on September 15, 2020 and November 15, 2020.
The Boeing Business Jet is a custom version of the B.737. The plans for the B.737 business jet version were not new. In the late 1980s, Boeing launched the 77-33 jet, the 737-300 jet. The plane was not friendly on the market. Following the launch of the next generation series, Boeing introduced the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) series. The BBJ1 was similar to the 737-700, but had additional features, including stronger wings and undercarriage from the 737-800, and had a longer range (thanks to the use of additional fuel tanks) compared to the rest of the B.737 models. The first BBJ started on August 11, 1998 and first flew on September 4, 1998.
On October 11, 1999, Boeing launched the BBJ2 program. Based on the B.737-800, it is 5.84 meters (19 ft 2 in) more than the BBJ, with 25% more cabin space and twice as much luggage space, but with a slightly shorter range. It also comes with extra fuel tanks and wings. The first BBJ2 was delivered on February 28, 2001.
The Boeing BBJ3 is based on the 737-900ER. The BBJ3 has 1,120 square feet (104 m²) of floor space, 35% more interior space and 89% more luggage space than the BBJ2. It has an auxiliary fuel system for a range of up to 4,725 nautical miles (8,751 km) and a head-up display. The 737-700BBJ1 version of the aircraft was purchased by the USA, Australia, India, Malaysia and South Africa. The aircraft in the 737-800BBJ2 version were purchased by Belarus, the Netherlands, Indonesia, Morocco and the UAE.
The BBJ2 version has additional fuel tanks for increased range that has become intercontinental. The aircraft is ETOPS-180 certified, which allows it to fly on one engine to an alternate airport 180 minutes away. In fact, an airplane on one engine can stay in the air for up to three hours. The eight-passenger version of the BBJ2 is 10,453 km. When 55 people are on board, the plane will fly non-stop from Warsaw to Beijing, and with 70 non-stop passengers from Warsaw to New York. Depending on the user's wishes, the plane has additional, special equipment on board. These can be active and passive defense systems, military standard communications, TACAN military close navigation system, Szakal navigation system, GPS system, satellite communications capable of transmitting data classified as "secret", IFF military aircraft identification system. In addition, there is a life support system on board. The plane will enable not only HEAD transport, but also the evacuation, transport of soldiers and long-distance transport of the wounded.
The Boeing BBJ3 is based on the 737-900ER. The BBJ3 has 1,120 square feet (104 m²) of floor space, 35% more interior space and 89% more luggage space than the BBJ2. It has an auxiliary fuel system for a range of up to 4,725 nautical miles (8,751 km) and a head-up display.
According to the Polish B.737-800 BBJ2 agreement, the new machines will have a HEAD lounge for 4 passengers and a VIP area for 2 and a business area for 12 passengers. There will also be an economic compartment with 48 seats. The aircraft is equipped with the latest Glass Cockpit avionics configuration and additionally with the HUD (Head Up Display) system, which significantly increases the safety of performing aviation tasks. B737 will be equipped with modern security systems, incl. IFF combat identification system, Szakal navigation system, satellite communication with the possibility of transmitting data classified as "secret" and GPS receivers. There will also be a life support system on board. They are to have a wide range of military navigation and auxiliary systems as well as systems increasing the level of security, such as: The IFF self-identification system compliant with the NATO standard. GPS positioning system with SAASM (Selective Availability Anti-spoofing Module). Military TACAN radio navigation system (also enabling the use of VOR / DME beacons). Active and passive defense systems, as well as radiation protection and warning systems by radars. System of open and coded satellite communication. Vi-Fi network. UHF, VHF and HF communication systems compliant with the standards of the Polish Army and NATO.
As the Boeing B.737-800 VIP "Józef Piłsudski" will enter service in June 2018, the contract with LOT Polish Airlines for the transport of the most important people in the country with Embraer 175 planes was extended until mid-2018. Also from that moment, all tasks related to the transport of VIPs will be taken over by the Polish Air Force and the 1st Transport Aviation Base stationed at Okęcie. This is how Donald Tusk's Cheap State will end.
Currently, the Ministry of National Defense and PLL LOT are negotiating with the Boeing Company on the creation of a training center for military and civilian pilots who will pilot Boeing planes. You should know that PLL LOT has already ordered six new Boeing B.737 MAX aircraft, which will arrive in Poland by May 2019 at the latest. In addition, LOT Polish Airlines has older machines: B.737-400 (three) and B.737-800 (four). Until the training center in Warsaw was established, Poles train at the center in Crawley, near Gatwick airport in Great Britain. On the campus occupying almost five thousand square meters, the pilots improve their skills on the Boeing 787, 777 and 737. There are a total of 13 simulators there, and the center is the largest of its type outside the US.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman