A New First In The World Of Corporate Aviation

Bombardier Global 8000 Unveiled As Fastest Business Jet In The Skies

The Global 8000 — the world’s fastest and longest-range aircraft on the market.

Bombardier Global 8000 has an impressive range of 8,000 nautical miles and a top speed of Mach 0.94, vaulting the long-range aircraft to the top of its class.

“The Global 8000 aircraft leverages the outstanding attributes of the Global 7500 aircraft, providing our customers with a flagship aircraft of a new era,” said Éric Martel, Bombardier’s President, and Chief Executive Officer. “We remain unmatched, which for an innovation-focused team like us, is great.”

The flagship aircraft capabilities have been on display since May 2021, when a demonstration flight saw the Global 8000 fly at speeds of Mach 1.015 while accompanied by a NASA F/A-19 chase plane. Coupled with an operating speed of Mach 0.94, the Global 8000 has become the fastest business jet in the world and the fastest in civil aviation since the Concorde.

The Global 8000 also became the first Transport Category aircraft to fly supersonic with sustainable aviation fuel during the demonstration flight.

The flagship aircraft can reach a variety of destinations and even more exclusive city pairs, including Dubai-Houston, Singapore-Los Angeles, London-Perth, and more.

Bombardier moves its headquarters to Wichita, Kansas.

In a move to the center of the US, Bombardier has clearly sent a message that Wichita is a great location to focus its growth and future opportunities for the company’s expansion into the defense sector.

Bombardier has been manufacturing the Learjet line of corporate aircraft and announced last year it was winding down Learjet production. The last Learjet was delivered from this facility in March of this year.

Bombardier will transform its Wichita operation into an aftermarket “Centre of Excellence”, providing the capacity to capture more service work from the roughly 2,000 Learjets still flying today and to offer more aftermarket options for Challenger and Global business jets.

Doing so would help Bombardier reach a broader goal of expanding its aftermarket business so that by 2025 the segment generates 27% of company revenues – or an estimated $2 billion, up from $1.2 billion in 2021. To hit that target, Bombardier says it must control about half of all worldwide Learjet, Challenger, and Global aftermarket work. The Global 8000 corporate jet will enhance Bombardier’s acceptance in the US aviation market and challenge Gulfstream’s dominance of the ‘big iron’ sector.

Bombardier has indicated that almost 200 new jobs will be generated by this move, a huge plus for the Wichita economy, especially in light of the Learjet’s closure. 

Bombardier, founded in Valcourt, Quebec, Canada in 1942, originally produced the first snowmobile! Famous for producing the Ski-Doo in 1959, Bombardier sold its division, which then operated under the name – BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products) in 2003.

Bombardier then refocused on the aviation industry and began producing a wide range of aircraft, engineered to fit varied roles in aviation. These included the CL-415 water bomber amphibious aircraft and the DeHavilland Dash 8 commuter aircraft series.

This Canadian company has survived in a cut-throat industry by being innovative and always looking for the next ‘big idea’ to be researched and brought to market. 

Stay tuned for more updates on Bombardier’s focus on the US defense market.