REUTERS/David Becker
Bombardier Inc. is extending the range of its marquee business jet to 7,700 nautical miles, unseating the Gulfstream G650 as the long-distance champ of the private-aircraft industry.
The 300-mile improvement for the Global 7000 means the plane will be able to whisk passengers from New York to Hong Kong, or Singapore to San Francisco, Bombardier said in a statement Sunday. A flight-test program with five aircraft has demonstrated the added reach, the company said.
The extra range gives Bombardier bragging rights over the G650 on flying distance as well as size, both of which are crucial selling points for the well-heeled customers who buy the planes. Bombardier Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare is counting on the Global 7000 to generate the lion?s share of his targeted $3.5 billion increase in annual sales of private jets by 2020 — a key component of his turnaround plan for the debt-laden company. ?There?s a significant, almost endless desire for more range, more luxury and more space among business-jet buyers,? said David Tyerman, an analyst at Cormark Securities. ?We saw that with the G650, and the Global 7000 takes it yet another step further. Every time a manufacturer comes out with a product that?s more capable, there seems to be a market that we didn?t know existed.?
Luxury Battle
Flight testing now exceeds 1,800 hours for the Global 7000 and the plane has reached a top speed of Mach 0.995, just short of the sound barrier, Bombardier sa...