A NEW near-supersonic jet with luxury living spaces, a full kitchen and a shower room is set to take flight this year.
Jet maker Bombardier has unveiled its new Global 8000 private jet which will blast high-flying passengers through the sky at Mach 0.94 – or 715mph (1,152kmh).
It will be the fastest civil jet in the world – surpassing the record-holding Cessna Citation X+ that tops speeds of Mach 0.935.
“You can go from New York to London at speeds that haven’t been experienced by a civilian since the days of Concorde,” Stephen McCullough, Bombardier’s senior vice-president of engineering and product development, told the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
While it won’t match the speeds of the long-retired Anglo-French jet, no civil plane has flown faster since the Concorde.
The Concorde flew at Mach 2.04 – more than double the speed of Bombardier’s Global 8000.
During test flights in 2021, the Global 8000 broke the speed of sound – reaching a maximum speed of Mach 1.015.
However, once it’s in service, the private jet will fly no faster than Mach 0.94.
The Canadian company says the jet will go into service in the second half of 2025.
There will be capacity for 19 passengers onboard, who can stretch their legs out across four living spaces, two bathrooms and a crew rest area.
Its ‘principal suite’ boasts a full-sized bed, large wardrobe, six ultra-large windows and a 32-inch HD TV.
It’s a far cry from the squished economy seats on a standard commercial carrier.
Emmanuel Bornand, Bombardier’s vice-president of international sales, told SCMP that “the Global 8000 was designed with a mindset of delivering our clients the ultimate, no-compromise aircraft.”
The jet will be able to take off from shorter runways at more remote airports, thanks to its Smooth Flex Wing design, according to Bombardier.
The company claims the Global 8000 will be able to fly to as many as 2,000 more airports than its closest competitor.
This can save passengers time, and also allow them to go to quieter destinations.
Bornand added: “There was a time in aviation when you had to make trade-offs – choosing between using smaller, more convenient airports, speed and range, or a more pleasant cabin experience versus faster flights on more turbulent wings.
“In the case of the Global 8000, you get it all. Bringing the best range, speed and ability to go to smaller airports with a four-zone cabin makes this aircraft unique.”
Why did the Concorde fail?
CONCORDE was the supersonic passenger jet considered the ultimate luxury in air travel.
Air France and British Airways announced they would be retiring their fleet of Concorde planes on April 10, 2003.
The plane had its first commercial flight on January 21, 1976, and was retired after 27 years of service and 50,000 flights.
Several reasons led to the decision to retire Concorde.
Air France and British Airways cited low passenger numbers and high maintenance costs.
By the early noughties, the planes were outdated and expensive to run, despite being incredibly advanced when they were first introduced almost three decades previously.
The 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001 majorly impacted passenger numbers, as people opted not to fly.
Passenger numbers also fell after an Air France Concorde crashed just minutes after taking off from Paris in July 2000.
The disaster killed all 109 people on board and four others on the ground.
The plane ran over a small piece of metal on the runway, which burst a tyre and caused an engine to ignite.
It was also the only aircraft in the British Airways fleet that required a flight engineer.
