Inside Bombardier's Certified Used Jet Program

Just as auto manufacturers have been offering certified preowned programs for years, Bombardier has a similar initiative for aircraft, which the Canadian airframer launched in 2021. It is the only business jet airframer to offer such a program.

At the recent European Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition in Geneva, Bombardier displayed a Challenger 605—originally built in 2012—as an example of how it selects Learjet, Challenger, or Global jets from trade-ins or on the open market and inspects, updates, and modernizes them inside and out. After that process, it offers the refurbished jets with a one-year manufacturer’s warranty and operational support.

Bombardier accepts only aircraft that are already in the top tier of the market and improves them from there. Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) aircraft are listed as a distinct category by aircraft appraisal analysts such as Aircraft Bluebook, Vref, and AircraftPost. In terms of value, those aircraft are being compared to versions five years newer.

The company says that in the last five years, an average of 460 used Bombardier aircraft have changed hands annually, so it sees an opportunity to add value to the market. Another benefit for customers is that they won’t have to wait for a new aircraft to go through the assembly process or a used aircraft to go through any necessary updates. The CPO aircraft are available turnkey.