Bombardier introduced two new aircraft, the Learjet 70 and 75, at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in Geneva on Monday morning. The jets will be based on the fuselage of the Learjet 40 and 45, but with new Honeywell engines and winglets added to boost performance and efficiency. In the cockpit, the new Garmin G5000 Vision Flight Deck will provide widescreen displays and touchscreen controls. The cabin interior will be based on the Learjet 85, with upgraded seats and a new cabin management system. The company already has orders for more than 50 of the airplanes, Steve Ridolfi, president of Bombardier Business Aircraft, said at EBACE.
The specifications for the two airplanes are still “in the development phase,” the company said, but they currently expect the six-passenger Learjet 70 will have a range greater than 2,000 nm, with a cruise speed of Mach 0.75, and sell for $11.5 million. The Learjet 75 will have about the same performance, with seats for up to eight passengers, at a price of $13 million. The winglets should produce a fuel savings of up to 4 percent and the new engines will boost short-field performance. First deliveries are expected next year. Among the first customers will be Bombardier’s fractional arm, Flexjet. “The addition of these new aircraft means Flexjet owners will continue to have access to some of the most technologically advanced aircraft available, and the youngest business jets in the industry (averaging approximately five years of age),” a Flexjet spokeswoman told AVweb.
