By the time the business aviation community convenes again next year in Las Vegas, Nev., the first Bombardier Global 8000 might well be in service.
The Montreal-based company has completed 300 hours of flight testing on its next flagship aircraft, including the initial certification agency flight tests, and anticipates entry into service in the second half of 2025.
“We’re extremely happy with the results,” Eric Martel, president and chief executive officer, told media in advance of the 2024 edition of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) conference and exhibition.
Manufacturing sites in Quebec, Texas, and Mexico, have begun production of major structural components, he said.
Bombardier is positioning the Global 8000 as the fastest civil aircraft since the Concorde, with a top speed of Mach 0.94. and a range of 8,000 nautical miles.
“Our customers will soon be able to step aboard an aircraft that sets the standard as the fastest and longest-range purpose-built business aircraft in history, allowing them to reach destinations farther and faster than ever before,” said Jean-Christophe Gallagher, executive vice-president of aircraft sales and Bombardier Defense.
“Connectivity, comfort, and arriving refreshed are just as important today than speed and range, which is why we are proud that the Global 8000 will boast the best-in-class cabin altitude and offer Bombardier’s signature smooth ride.”
That high-end speed could unlock more city pairs for corporate travel, such as Dubai-Houston, Singapore-Los Angeles, and London-Perth. With four living spaces and a separate crew rest area, the Global 8000 will be capable of flying up to 8,000 nautical miles non-stop, the company suggested.
The in-flight experience will include passenger features introduced on the Global 7500 such as a full-size bed with stand-up shower in the en-suite, entertainment control and connectivity, an intuitive touch cabin management system, and Bombardier’s l’Opéra directional audio sound system.
The increased speed, range, and low cabin altitudes of the Global 8000 will be offered to Global 7500 customers as an upgrade package.
The new aircraft’s pending arrival is just one of several milestones the company is marking at NBAA. Since narrowing its corporate focus solely to business jets in 2020, Bombardier has seen total revenue increase from $5.6 billion to over $8 billion this year, and expects to exceed $9 billion in the near future.
Martel said much of that growth could come from expanding its services and defence portfolios, which generate about 28 percent of revenue, but could reach 50 percent by 2030, making Bombardier a “much more diversified” operation, he noted.
“Today, we are in a very solid position,” he said. “At the same time, we are changing the profile of our company. In 2030, this company will be much bigger. Our revenue will continue to grow.” Revenue from the services division is about $2 billion, double from just a few years ago.
In December 2023, the U.S. Army awarded Bombardier Defense a contract for one Global 6500 aircraft, with options for two more, to serve as a prototype for the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES), an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platform providing deep-sensing capabilities in multidomain operations.
“It is one of the many examples of an application of a Bombardier aircraft for very important missions,” said Gallagher.
As a flexible company that is “not shy about doing the hard things,” Bombardier is bringing “a breath of fresh air” to a defence sector struggling with rigid procurement practices. “We have been constantly adapting our aircraft to fit these missions and the customers’ needs. I think we are starting, slowly but surely, to be recognized by a very different type of customer than what we have had before,” he said, which could see the defence division grow significantly in the coming years.
Even as the Global 8000 approaches entry into service, the Global 7500 is still marking records, including for range, speed, and take-off performance. And with the Challenger 3500, unveiled in 2021, on the verge of its 100th delivery, and the Challenger 300 series approaching 1,000 aircraft, responsive aircraft support is critical for future success.
Bombardier has 5,000 business jets in service and in need of worldwide service. The company has recently added one million square feet to its service capacity at 100 locations. More than 70,000 parts per month move among its suppliers, distribution hubs, and service centres. “It’s a huge logistics machine,” noted Paul Sislian, executive vice-president of Bombardier Aftermarket Services & Strategy.
With about 300 aircraft requiring service on a daily basis, the company’s challenge is to have the “right footprint” globally, to be “where our customers need us to be,” he said.
