Bombardier adds a new aircraft to the Global family. The Montreal-based business jet manufacturer unveiled the Global 8000 on Monday at the Geneva Business Aviation Show (EBACE). A project that had been on the drawing boards for many years.
In Bombardier’s boxes since the launch of the Global 7000 program in 2010, the Global 8000 will finally see the light of day, with entry into service scheduled for 2025. The aircraft has a range of 8,000 nautical miles (14,800 kilometers) and a speed Mach 0.94 (1150 km/h). By 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).
This increase in range enables Bombardier’s affluent customers to reach cities that were previously not within reach in a direct flight. “With just a few modifications to the aircraft, we had the possibility of increasing its speed and the distance traveled even further,” explains Bombardier President and CEO, Éric Martel, in an interview.
With the Global 8000, Mr. Martel believes that Bombardier retains its “supremacy” in the business jet industry, citing the example of the aircraft’s speed and range. “We are still raising the bar for competition. »
Last May, the French company Dassault unveiled its Falcon 10x, whose entry into service is scheduled for 2025. The autonomy of the Falcon 10x must be 7500 nautical miles and was intended as a response to the Global 7500. Gulfstream, for its part, unveiled its G800, which has a range of 8,000 miles. Commissioning is scheduled for 2023.
With Monday’s announcement, Bombardier, which had “raised the standards” in business aviation with the Global 7500, continues to outpace its competitors, believes University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) professor Mehran Ebrahimi . “It’s true, what they say is not just marketing, judges the director of the International Observatory of Aeronautics and Civil Aviation at UQAM. Since the Concorde, we had no civilian plane that went so fast, so high. »
The Global 8000 stands out on various technical aspects, notes the expert. For Bombardier’s “premium” customers willing to shell out the list price of US$78 million (about C$100 million) for a Global 8000, certain details are real assets. He cites 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 envisioned that the cabin of the Global 8000 would be smaller than that of the Global 7500, with three zones instead of four. The company has managed not to sacrifice space for performance. “That’s what our clients wanted,” says Mr. Martel. It didn’t really work to do it in three zones. They [les clients] needed, when they are doing long distances, to have a larger crew on board, it required a lot of space in the front of the cabin. »
For customers who already have a Global 7500, Bombardier offers the possibility of converting their aircraft into a Global 8000. This conversion can be done “in a few days”, specified Mr. Martel.
Selling a conversion service for an aircraft is another “innovation” in the industry, Ebrahimi points out. “We are not coming to cannibalize the current model. There are no customers who 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 was already included in the 2025 financial objectives, which the company had unveiled last February.
As for the Global 7500, a large part of the aircraft will be built in Toronto, and the finishing will be done in Bombardier’s facilities in Quebec, in Dorval.
Favorable context
The announcement comes in a favorable business environment for Bombardier as wealthy people and senior business leaders have abandoned commercial flights during the pandemic to turn to business jets. During the first three months of the year, Bombardier added the equivalent of US$1.3 billion to its order book to reach US$13.5 billion.
Bombardier’s image has been tarnished by the financial failure of the CSeries, sold to Airbus in 2018, and the difficulties of the Transport division, sold to Alstom in 2021. These setbacks have overshadowed the company’s achievements in the business aviation,” laments Mr. Ebrahimi. “In Quebec, we are not as proud as we should be of what we are capable of doing. What Bombardier has achieved is huge in terms of technology. »
According to him, the main challenge for Bombardier is not on the competition side, 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 global. 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 it’s something they’re going to have to emphasize even more. »