A clash of titans is shaping up in the luxury-jet set: Bombardier Inc. is seeking to use its new Global 7000 to wrestle away the Gulfstream G650’s crown as the most coveted private aircraft.
Bragging rights aren’t all that’s at stake. Canada’s largest aerospace company is banking on the Global 7000 to drive sales in the coming years after ceding control of its marquee commercial jet to Airbus SE. Bombardier is playing catch-up to Gulfstream, a unit of General Dynamics Corp., which set the standard for speed and comfort with the first delivery of its G650 five years ago.
A crucial test is shaping up as Bombardier aims to get its new private plane to customers by the end of 2018. A wing redesign delayed its debut by two years. Brisk sales of the Global 7000, with a list price of $73 million, would boost Bombardier’s turnaround -- and justify an investment of several billion dollars in a plane that can whiz passengers from Hong Kong to New York with the comfort of a bedroom and shower.
The aircraft “is the entire ball game for Bombardier,” Chris Murray, an AltaCorp Capital Corp. analyst in Toronto, said in a telephone interview. “One of the things that is super critical to the entire recovery plan is that the 7000 hits entry into service flawlessly.”
Smooth Ride
The Global 7000’s flexible wings, spanning 104 feet, will give passengers a smoother ride than competing aircraft, according to Bombardier. A top speed just under supersonic matches the fastest aircraft in the industry. The key selling point: a spacious cabin with four separate areas to hold meetings or take a nap.
“We already have people asking about the 7000,” said Pat Gallagher, sales chief for NetJets Inc., Warren Buffett’s private jet company, which has ordered an undisclosed number of the planes. “It’s bigger than anything else that’s out there. It will be the new flagship for Bombardier, for NetJets and for the industry in general.”
The success of the Global 7000 may depend in part on how Gulfstream reacts to its first competitor in the ultra-long-range market that it created with the G650. The planemaker isn’t likely to give up its premier spot without a fight.
Holding Tight
“I certainly wouldn’t want to relinquish any control of the market that I believe we built,” Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. President Mark Burns said in an interview during the largest gathering of private-jet makers in Las Vegas in October. “That’s something we have to be mindful of.”