Bombardier May Be Planning a Competitor to Gulfstream's G650

Bombardier may be working on an aircraft to compete with Gulfstream's G650, which is due to enter service in 2012. Although a Bombardier spokeswoman said last week that the company had no immediate plans to announce a jet to compete with the G650, CEO Pierre Beaudoin recently suggested that the Canadian manufacturer might soon do just that. He offered no timetables, but some believe an announcement could come as soon as the first quarter of 2010. At the moment, Bombardier's closest competitor to the G650 is the Global Express XRS, which entered service in 2006. It has a range of 6,150 nautical miles with eight passengers and four crew at Mach 0.85. By contrast, the G650-touted by its manufacturer as the "widest, fastest, longest-range business jet"-will fly 7,000 nautical miles at Mach 0.85 with the same number of passengers and crew and will be capable of speeds up to Mach 0.925.