Review: Bombardier's Global 8000

Bombardier delivered its 150th Global 7500 ultra-long-range business jet to an undisclosed customer in September. The fleet has amassed 100,000 flight hours since service entry in December 2018. The aircraft has also set 20 speed/distance records, including an 8,225-nautical-mile October 2019 flight from Sydney to Detroit. Bombardier claims the Global 7500 has a dispatch reliability rate of 99.8 percent.

The 7500 features a “smooth flex wing” that reduces drag, fuel burn, and turbulence; a three- or four-zone passenger cabin with the Lufthansa nice Touch cabin management system, Nuage zero-gravity single executive seats, and Soleil lighting designed with circadian rhythm–based technology to combat jet lag; a large galley; and a dedicated crew suite.

The galley can be equipped with multiple ovens, including a double convection/microwave and a convection/steam model. The redesigned crew rest area is larger than the ones on earlier models. The aft lav in the rear cabin en suite can be fitted with a steam shower, and passengers can access the capacious 195-cubic-foot baggage hold at any altitude. The 7500 comes standard with Bombardier’s Wave satcom (the Honeywell JetWave system that runs on Inmarsat’s Ka-band satellite network). The cockpit features computerized fly-by-wire controls with sidestick inputs and the Global Vision flight deck built around Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics.

The 8000 Introduces Improvements

In 2022, Bombardier announced a revised version of the aircraft, the $81 million Global 8000. It remains under development and “on track,” according to the airframer, which plans for it to enter service in the second half of 2025. The program’s lone test vehicle has flown more than 150 hours backed by 1,000 hours of ground rigging tests. The Global 8000’s top speed is Mach 0.94, thanks largely to a software change to its GE Passport engines that enables them to deliver more thrust. The engines are based on the guts of the high-efficiency CFM Leap models being developed for new-generation Airbuses and Boeings. Among the technologies incorporated into the engines is a 52-inch titanium “blisk,” a single forging of the fan blades and disk that saves weight and reduces vibration.

The Global 8000's cockpit features computerized fly-by-wire controls.

During flight testing in 2021, the aircraft exceeded Mach 1 in a shallow dive. As a result of fuel-storage optimization, the range increases from 7,700 to 8,000 nautical miles (with eight passengers and four crew, cruising at Mach 0.85). The aircraft also adds advanced HEPA cabin air filtering. Overall dimensions are unchanged from the Global 7500, and 7500 operators will be able to upgrade their aircraft to Global 8000 configuration via a service bulletin for a modification and calibration process that will take approximately one week, according to Bombardier. Both the 7500 and 8000 use the same fuselage cross-section as their legacy predecessors (six feet, two inches tall, and eight feet wide) but they stretch it by 11 feet to provide 2,637 cubic feet of cabin space.

Like its predecessor, the Global 8000 features a three- or four-zone passenger cabin with the Lufthansa nice Touch cabin management system, Nuage zero-gravity single executive seats, and Soleil lighting.

The 8000’s main advantage over Gulfstream’s competing G800, which that airframer plans to certify in 2024, is a slight increase in top speed (Mach 0.94 for the Global versus 0.935 for the Gulfstream) and a cabin that is nearly eight feet longer. However, the Gulfstream’s cabin is an inch taller and two inches wider than the Global’s, which is six feet two inches tall and eight feet wide. At maximum takeoff weight, the Global can also use runways that are a few hundred feet shorter than the G800 can employ (preliminary specifications only). The Global 8000 also boasts a very low cabin altitude—just 2,900 feet while the aircraft is at 41,000 feet. 

The Manufacturer’s Brighter Outlook

A few years ago, Bombardier skirted perilously close to bankruptcy, largely due to massive debt onboarded over a decade used to finance the development of its CSeries airliner program (since sold to Airbus and rechristened the A220). In 2020, the debacle prompted the Montreal Gazette to run a story headlined, “What went wrong at Bombardier? Everything.” However, CEO and president Eric Martel said the company has more than 200 “order options” from large operators of Challenger and Global aircraft, with Global 7500 and 8000 models accounting for nearly half the total. He said the company “has set a solid foundation for its future,” adding that the company has no plans to sell any additional assets to pay down debt.

“We’re on a nice path,” Martel said in October. “We’ve been reducing the debt by more than half so far and still, you know, have a bit of work to do, but I think [we’re headed] in the right direction.” Martel rejoined Bombardier in 2020 after serving for five years as CEO of Hydro-Quebec. Before that, had headed Bombardier’s business aircraft, customer services, and specialized aircraft divisions. An electrical engineer by training, he is known throughout the industry as a problem solver.

Bombardier is moving to further bolster customer confidence via the launch of its new Smart Services Elite maintenance plan. Paul Sislian, Bombardier executive vice president of aftermarket support and strategy, called the plan “the most comprehensive cost-per-hour program on the market bar none.” It consolidates the current Smart Services program into a single offering with a single invoice that the company says “eliminates all the confusion” of menu-driven plans. 

While the equipment incorporated in the Global 8000 is complex, therefore, taking care of it should be relatively easy.

Mark Huber has reviewed aircraft for BJT since 2005.

2025 Bombardier Global 8000 at a Glance* 

Price (2022): $81 million 

Engines: 2 GE Passport, 18, 920 pounds of thrust each

Avionics: Collins Pro Line Fusion 

Crew: 2–4+ 

Passengers: Up to 14 

Cabin: 6 ft, 2 in (H), 8 ft (W), 54 ft, 5 in (L) 

Baggage capacity: 195 cu ft 

Top speed: Mach 0.94 

Long-range cruise speed: Mach 0.85 

Service ceiling: 51,000 ft 

Range: 8,000 nm (8 pax, 4 crew, NBAA IFR reserves at Mach 0.85) 

Takeoff distance at maximum takeoff weight: 5,760 ft

*all specifications preliminary