Boeing and General Electric (GE) formed the Boeing Business Jets (BBJ) joint venture in 1996. According to the plane maker's 1996 annual report, the agreement was made to respond to the demand for larger, more capable business aircraft that could fly over 6,000 miles (9,656 kilometers). The first BBJ aircraft was scheduled to be based on the 737-700 Next Generation (NG), the smallest member of the 737 NG family.