A Bombardier Global 8000 jet after an entry-into-service celebration event at the Bombardier Aircraft Assembly Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. The aircraft is the world’s fastest business jet. Photographer: Laura Proctor/Bloomberg
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Big private jet operators are betting you want to fly longer distances without stopping to refuel and you want to do it faster.
Last month, NetJets announced it had taken delivery of its first new Bombardier Global 8000.
NetJets Aviation President Patrick Gallagher said, “I was fortunate to fly on the first 8000 to bring it back to (our headquarters in) Columbus (Ohio) from Montreal (where Bombardier makes the jet), and we got to Mach 0.95, so it’s not just a marketing statement.”
Mach 0.95 translates to around 730 miles per hour.
It’s faster than the previous flagship, the Global 7500, which could fly at Mach 0.925, or around 710 miles per hour.
Rival Gulfstream says its G700’s maximum Mach is 0.935.
The airplanes enable globetrotters not only to go faster but also to go further without having to make a refueling stop.
Depending on how many people are onboard, the winds, and how fast you (or your operator) want to fly – speed impacts fuel burn and range – Bombardier’s website shows you can fly nonstop from London, England, to Darwin, Australia, or Miami, Florida, to Beijing, China.
The range difference between the Global 7500 and the Global 8000 is about 345 miles, which may not seem like much, but it can mean adding several hours of travel time if you do need to land and refuel.
NetJets said it plans to take delivery of at least four Global 8000s and upgrade its 19 Global 7500s to Global 8000 status.
Interestingly, the upgrade doesn’t involve adding fuel tanks or modifying the exterior; it is accomplished through software changes, according to a 2023 report by Aerospace Testing International.
A Bombardier executive told the publication, “It is by design philosophy, it’s not by accident that the capability was there. There are features on the 7500 wing, such as the split aileron, that we know give us more capability. We saw features at the extremes of the Global 7500 operating envelope that reinforced the potential for more capability, and that comes from a robust design philosophy, which itself comes from years of having gone through entire aircraft cycles.”
Business Jet Traveler pegs the upgrade cost at around $3 million per airplane.
Gallagher explained the reason for the upgrades (with NetJets covering the cost for the fractional owners of the Global 7500s) as “flights are getting longer as people are going to more far-flung destinations.”
It isn’t only NetJets when it comes to betting on faster and longer. This week brought a trio of announcements related to operators of ultra-long-range private jets.
On Tuesday, Bond, which won’t take flight until 2027, announced it was accelerating deliveries, upgrading its existing Bombardier order, converting Global 6500s to Global 8000s. That upped the value of its current orders and options from $4 billion to $5 billion.
Founder Bill Papariella, who sold Jet Edge to Vista in 2022 and is positioning Bond as something akin to Aman versus Ritz-Carlton, said of his fractional program, “Our founding members aren’t passive buyers. They co-invested in the company because they believe this model should exist.”
Papariella added, “When some of today’s most prolific entrepreneurs, investors, and entertainers put capital behind the operator, not just the aircraft, that tells you something about how underserved the premium end of this market has been.”
On Wednesday, Vista announced it had received the first of its Global 7500s upgraded by Bombardier to a Global 8000.
Vista doesn’t offer fractional ownership, but instead uses a non-equity subscription model where members pre-pay for flights and receive guaranteed availability and rates. It said all 18 of its Global 7500s will be upgraded by the end of the year.
Founder and Chairman Thomas Flohr said, “With more members flying further and more frequently, these capabilities allow us to offer greater flexibility while maintaining the consistency and service that sets Vista apart.”
Next up yesterday was Gulfstream Aerospace, which issued a press release noting it had delivered the 10th and final Gulfstream G700 to Qatar Executive, completing a 2019 order.
The announcement pointed out the G700 currently holds 90 city-pair speed records. The private jet unit of Qatar Airways Group has 25 long-range Gulfstream jets it offers on the charter market.
A spokesperson for Flexjet noted that even though the fractional operator didn’t issue a press release this week, the company is continuing to build its long-haul fleet.
He said, “Flexjet owns the distinct position in the large and ultra‑long‑range segment of operating the world’s largest fractional Gulfstream fleet,” teasing, “Additional Gulfstream G700s are scheduled to arrive this year, along with a new fleet type to be revealed in the coming weeks.”
It debuted its first G700 last year.
