Bombardier delivers global 7500 jet as corporate travel race intensifies

Canada's Bombardier will deliver its first Global 7500 corporate jet on Thursday, premiering a full-sized bed and optional en-suite shower, in a challenge to US planemaker Gulfstream at the top of the luxury jet market. To meet demands by wealthy travelers, business jet manufacturers are increasingly filling their cabins with hotel-style features, previously seen only in converted commercial aircraft, by harnessing lighter-weight materials and technology that do not compromise a plane's range. The Global 7500, with a $73m list price, will compete with Gulfstream's G650, which has dominated the top end of the business jet market since its entry into service in 2012. "With no direct in-production competitor in this segment, Gulfstream has had quite a run at the top of the market," said Rolland Vincent, a consultant and founder of business aviation forecasting service JetNet. Both jets can connect far-flung cities like New York and Tokyo while flying at just under the speed of sound. But Bombardier says its Global 7500, the largest corporate plane not transformed from an airliner, is the first to offer a bed not converted from an onboard sofa. "It's really a battle of superlatives," Vincent said. Bombardier, in the middle of a deep restructuring, is counting on sales of its Global 7500 and other new large-cabin aircraft, the Global 6500 and 5500, which enter service next year, to boost its business jet division revenues to $8.5b in 2020, up from about $5b in 2018.<br/>