Bombardier added a new aircraft to the Global family

In Bombardier boxes since launching the Global 7000 program in 2010, the Global 8000 will finally see the light of day, with service entry scheduled for 2025.

The aircraft has a range of 8,000 nautical miles (14,800 kilometers) and a speed of Mach 0.94 (1,150 km/h). In comparison, the Global 7500, in service since December 2018, offers a range of 7,700 nautical miles (14,260 kilometers) and has a speed of Mach 0.925 (1,142 km/h).

The increase in this range allows Bombardier’s wealthy customers to reach cities previously unreachable with a direct flight. With just a few changes to the device, we had the possibility to take its speed and travel farther.explanation by the President and CEO of Bombardier, Éric Martel, in an interview.

At Global 8000, Mr. Martel believes Bombardier has retained its dominance in the business jet industry, citing speed and range as an example.

” We raised the bar again for the competition. “

Last May, French company Dassault released its Falcon 10x, whose entry into service is scheduled for 2025. The autonomy of the Falcon 10x should be 7500 nautical miles and intended in response to the Global 7500. Gulfstream, for its part, has announced its G800, with a range of 8,000 miles. The commission is scheduled for 2023.

In Monday’s announcement, the Bombardier, who had raised standards in business aviation with the Global 7500, continues to surpass its competitors, believes professor at the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM), Mehran Ebrahimi.

True, they say, not just marketingjudged the director of the International Observatory of Aeronautics and Civil Aviation at UQAM. Since Concorde, we don’t have civilian planes that are very fast, very high.

A conversion offered to Global 7500 holders

The Global 8000 is unique in various technical aspects, says the expert. For customers top of the line of Bombardier willing to take the list price of 78 million US dollars (approximately 100 million Canadian dollars) for a Global 8000, a few details made the difference.

He cited the fact that the aircraft can maintain a cabin altitude of 2,900 feet (884 meters) when flying at 41,000 feet (12,500 meters), which increases the comfort of the aircraft.

Initially, it was thought that the cabin of the Global 8000 would be smaller than the Global 7500, with three zones instead of four. The company has managed not to sacrifice space for performance.

That’s what our clients want, ”Mr. Martel said. It doesn’t really work to do this in three zones. they [les clients] need, when they are working long distances, to have a larger crew on board, it will take up a lot of space in front of the cabin.

For customers who already have a Global 7500, Bombardier offers the possibility to convert their aircraft to a Global 8000. This conversion can be done in How many dayssaid Mr. Martel.

Selling a conversion service for one aircraft is another change industry, Ebrahimi said. We are not coming to cannibalize the current model. No customer will say: “I’m not buying, I’m waiting for the new one to come out”.

In an interview, Mr. Martel clarified that the launch of the Global 8000 is already included in the 2025 financial goal, which the company announced last February.

Like the Global 7500, a large portion of the aircraft will be built in Toronto and the finishing will be done at Bombardier’s facilities in Quebec, in Dorval.

Favorable context

The announcement came in a favorable business environment for Bombardier, as wealthy people and senior business leaders abandoned commercial flights during the pandemic to switch to business jets.

In the first three months of the year, Bombardier added the equivalent of US $ 1.3 billion to its order backlog, which reached US $ 13.5 billion.

Bombardier’s image was tainted by the financial failure of CSeries, which was sold to Airbus in 2018, and the difficulties of the Transport division, which was sold to Alstom in 2021. These setbacks overshadowed the company’s successes. in business aviation, “lamented Mr. Ebrahimi.

” In Quebec, we are less proud of what we can do. Bombardier’s achievement is immense in technological terms. “

According to him, the main challenge for Bombardier is not on the side of competition, but in justifying the reason for the existence of business jets in the context of the fight against climate change. It’s not just Bombardier, it’s something universal. The very idea of ​​moving such a large device to move three or four people raises questions. Bombardier has done a lot to improve fuel efficiency, but this is something they need to put more emphasis on.