Adds Bombardier Global Aircraft To The NetJets Fleet
NetJets has signed a purchase agreement with
Bombardier Aerospace to add up to a combined 120 new Bombardier
Global aircraft into the NetJets fleet, including the Global 5000,
Global Express XRS Vision, Global 7000 and Global 8000 aircraft.
The agreement, announced Tuesday, includes a firm order from
NetJets for 50 Global business jets valued at a retail price of
$2.8 billion, with options for an additional 70 Global
aircraft.
The firm order comprises 30 Global 5000 Vision and Global
Express XRS Vision aircraft, with deliveries scheduled to begin in
the fourth quarter of 2012, as well as 20 firm orders for
Bombardier’s newly-launched Global 7000 and Global 8000 jets,
with deliveries of these aircraft to begin in 2017. At a total
retail price exceeding $6.7B, this is the largest aircraft purchase
agreement in the history of private aviation. Additional terms of
the deal were not disclosed.
The Global aircraft fleet will be designed to NetJets’
specifications, including cabin technologies and features based on
the requirements of NetJets Owners. This announcement is the next
step in the execution of a 10-year fleet plan that will provide
NetJets Owners with the fleet options, safety, service and
reliability they have come to expect from the worldwide leader in
private aviation.
“We are taking advantage of the current lull in the
private aviation market to position the NetJets fleet for the
future," said NetJets Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David L.
Sokol. "Although we anticipate 2011 to be another difficult year,
when Bombardier begins to make deliveries of these aircraft, we
will be ready to satisfy the market’s demand.”
The decision to add the Global aircraft family to the NetJets
fleet was based upon Owner research, a comprehensive view of flight
patterns and service requirements, as well as NetJets’ unique
insight into the continued global growth of business aviation. The
demand for large cabin, long-range aircraft has remained steady
through the recent economic downturn and will continue to grow as
the new Global 7000 and Global 8000 aircraft with greater range
become available in 2017, opening new global markets, such as the
Pacific Rim. “No one knows more about the existing and
forward-looking needs and operational requirements of private
aircraft Owners than NetJets,” added NetJets Inc. President
Jordan Hansell. “The Global aircraft family is ideally suited
to our Owners’ needs for range, reliability, interior comfort
and operating efficiency,” Hansell said. “These
aircraft will be an excellent complement to our existing large
cabin capabilities and overall fleet, which is unmatched in private
aviation.”
NetJets operates a global fleet of more than 800 aircraft from
several leading aircraft manufacturers, including: Cessna,
Dassault, Gulfstream and Hawker-Beechcraft. Since 2000, NetJets has
taken delivery of more than 600 aircraft from both domestic and
foreign manufacturers, including 554 aircraft from U.S.
manufacturers.