6 Things You Might Not Know About Bombardier

He already had experience developing a number of snow vehicles, and this went further with the company. It developed several vehicles, including people-carrying snowmobiles, snow plows, and other adaptions for various industries. The “Ski-Dog” (known today as Ski-Doo) was introduced in the 1950s as a replacement for the traditional dog-driven snow sled.

2 Aircraft manufacturing expanded with the purchase of Canadair (and later, other companies)

Bombardier purchased the leading Canadian aircraft manufacturing company, Canadair, in 1986. This was a major expansion for the company into aviation, having focussed up to then on snow-based vehicles and train vehicles.

Canadair had started aircraft manufacturing back in the 1940s with Consolidated flying boats and a variant of the Douglas DC-4. It later developed its own aircraft, including the CT-114 Tutor, and later the CL-215 amphibious aircraft, and then the Challenger business jet series (the original Challenger CL-600, without winglets, is pictured below).

This process of expansion with acquisition in the aviation industry continued for a long time and has been a large part of the company’s aviation activity. Bombardier followed the Canadair purchase with the acquisition of Short Brothers in the UK in 1989. In the 1990s it took on the private jet manufacturer Learjet (it announced the end of production of Learjet aircraft in 2021) and de Havilland Canada (this was acquired from Boeing and later sold to Longview Aviation Capital, who restored the DHC brand).

3 The Challenger jet series has been Bombardier’s most-delivered aircraft

Bombardier took on the Challenger business jet from its initial acquisition of Canadair. The manufacturer continued production, and development of the Challenger 600 Series with several further variants launched. It also developed the Challenger 300 Series (as a clean-sheet design) to target the smaller business jet market. Overall, more than 1,800 Challenger jets have been delivered. Of the several variants, the mid-size Challenger 650 has been the best-selling.

Photo: Media_works | Shutterstock

Not far behind in sales is the popular Dash 8 turboprop. Although it has since sold this on, it was part of Bombardier from 1992 to 2019. In total, over 1,200 aircraft have been delivered. For the CRJ series, just over 1,000 aircraft have been delivered.

4 The Bombardier Global 7500 is the longest range heavy private jet today

Bombardier launched the Global Express jet series as a larger, long-range series of private jets. The Bombardier Global 7500 offers an impressive range of approximately 7,700 nautical miles (14,260 km). This is currently the longest range offered by any dedicated private jet model (not including private jet versions of Boeing and Airbus widebodies available under the BBJ and ACJ programs).

Photo: Robert Buchel/Shutterstock

This range is only around 200 nautical miles higher than the popular Gulfstream G650ER jet – but note that the Global 7500 is larger too.

The upcoming Bombardier Global 8000 will take this even further. It will offer a range of up to 7,900 nautical miles (14,630 km). It is also fast – although rated with a cruising speed of Mach 0.94, it has already broken the sound barrier in testing with Bombardier.

5 Its largest-ever aircraft deal was with VistaJet in 2012

The private jet market has become very important for Bombardier. This was highlighted in 2012 when the manufacturer signed its largest-ever contract with the Swiss jet operator VistaJet. This was for up to 142 Bombardier Global series jets (including both firm orders and options), valued at $7.8 billion. This included the Global 5000, Global 6000, and Global 8000 jet. VistaJet explained at the time (as reported by Reuters) that this was the single largest business jet order ever.

Bombardier also recorded a large deal in the same year with NetJets. This was for $7.3 billion of Challenger Series jets.

6 Don’t forget trains – Bombardier was once the largest manufacturer globally

While we know Bombardier well for its aircraft, train manufacturing has long been a big part of the business. This began in 1970 (long before aircraft manufacturing) and expanded with several acquisitions. Its success here took off in the mid-1970s with contracts to deliver equipment for the Montreal, and later for New York (a Bombardier unit is pictured below), subway systems.

The train business expanded into Europe in the 1980s and 1990s, including in Germany, France, and the UK. After further acquisitions, in the early 2000s, it became the largest rail equipment manufacturer globally. Bombardier was involved (either directly or in partnerships) in the development of numerous subway and metro, locomotives, coaching stock, and high-speed projects. A united for the Delhi metro system is pictured below.

The Bombardier Transportation division was sold in 2021 to the French manufacturer Alstom. This was largely done as a result of the financial difficulties with the Bombardier CSeries development.

There is plenty more to discuss about the long history of Bombardier – in commercial and private aviation, as well as other important areas. Feel free to do so in the comments section below.

Sources: Reuters (VistaJet deal)

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  Bombardier

  Stock Code:

  BBDB

  Business Type:

  Planemaker

  Date Founded:

  1942-07-10

  CEO:

  Éric Martel

  Headquarters Location:

  Dorval, Canada