Bombardier Busting Speed Barriers with Global 8000

Bombardier is throwing down the gauntlet for business jet speed, establishing Mach 0.95 as the Mmo (maximum Mach operating number) for its Global 8000, the company announced on Monday at NBAA-BACE 2025. Up from the previous target of Mach 0.94, the new Mmo will be the highest approved for a subsonic civil aircraft and the fastest for a business jet in history.

“Today will mark a turning point in the way we travel the world,” Bombardier president and CEO Éric Martel said as Bombardier revealed the increased Mmo. “Travel isn’t just about reaching a destination. It’s about making the most of every moment in the journey, and it’s about chasing the next dawn."

A Mach 0.95 top speed will enable operators to more readily fly at faster speeds without pushing the Mmo limit and maintain range, explained Stephen McCullough, senior v-p of engineering and product development for Bombardier. This could also mean a 7% improvement on a typical flight between New York and London. “For the operators of these aircraft, every minute counts,” McCullough said.

“The Global 8000 was already the fastest business aircraft ever built, and with this new speed capability, this incredible aircraft is set to redefine the ultra-long-range market,” McCullough added.

The move to Mach 0.95 began the year before the Global 8000 was formally launched, when Bombardier flew the flight test vehicle beyond the speed of sound. “When we did that, we realized that the aircraft handling capability was actually better than 0.94,” McCullough explained.

Even so, the company originally locked down Mach 0.94, a number that the company knew it could commit to with customers. “But the team at Bombardier, which really is constantly innovating, looked at how do we do this? This is different than what we’ve seen in the industry,” he said.

About two years ago, McCullough continued, Bombardier went back into the wind tunnel to test the model at speeds as high as Mach 1.2. “We did that because this is an area where we really haven’t been before, and so that validated our models. That actually let us have total confidence and then bring the certification authorities and the regulators along to this new speed of 0.95.”

This increased speed was revealed shortly before the aircraft was anticipated to receive Transport Canada approval, and McCullough said this has been “full steam ahead.” Certification is expected in the upcoming weeks, with the first delivery by year-end. Martel said that the first customer will be announced at the time of delivery.

In tandem with speed and range, Bombardier maintains that the Global 7500/8000 four-zone aircraft brings runway performance comparable to smaller jets, able to access 30% more airports than rival aircraft.

In addition to boosting the speed, Bombardier also revealed that it will hand over a Global 8000 to business aviation services company Comlux in 2026. “The Bombardier Global 8000 integrates perfectly into our long-range fleet, in between our widebody fleet and our Global 6500 fleet,” said Comlux Aviation CEO Andrea Zanetto. “We have built our reputation on delivering premium global travel solutions, and this aircraft allows us to offer ultra-long range.”