The Bombardier Global 8000 flies faster and higher to make the most of your time in the air

The keenest advocates of private aviation tend to be those who have transcended normal wealth and have entered the realm where time is considered the most precious commodity of all. This search for lost time is taken up with almost evangelical zeal by jet owners, be they celebrities, businesses, or just the nebulous 0.01 per cent. It’s therefore unsurprising to find that the jet makers themselves are also tapping into the wellness benefits of flying private.

That’s one of the key USPs behind Canadian manufacturer Bombardier’s newest Global variant, the flagship 8000. With the first aircraft entering service in December 2025, we got a rare chance to go onboard the 8000’s sister aircraft, the 7500, at Farnborough Airport, to find out exactly which way this holistic CBA slices for the typical PJ user.

Although the interior of Global 8000 is visually identical to the 7500 before us in this vast hangar, there are subtle differences that give the newer plane its headline bragging right; ‘the world’s fastest civilian aircraft since Concorde’. Capable of cruising at Mach 0.95 (or roughly 1,171 km/h, a fair bit more than the Dreamliner’s cruising speed of 913 km/h, but still somewhat short of Concorde’s usual maximum service speed of 2,179 km/h).

Still, that’s velocity not to be sniffed at, but perhaps a more important figure is the Global 8000’s cruising altitude; at up to 51,000 feet, the G8000 sits above commercial traffic and pretty much most weather systems, creating a smooth, turbulence-free ride.

Bombardier also points out that the cabin’s advanced air filtration system and pressurisation system create the lowest ‘cabin altitude’ in the industry; at 41,000 feet, you feel as if you’re at a mere 2,691 feet (less than the height of the Burj Khalifa, another handy soundbite), with corresponding knock-on benefits for both health and wellness.

If it weren’t enough that PJ users are getting to leapfrog both queues and clouds, the G8000 also offers a maximum range of 8,000 nautical miles, capable of delivering up to 19 passengers on a non-stop journey between most of the world’s major airports.

These benefits come thanks to a clean-sheet wing design, as well as custom-made GE Passport engines. Not only is the wing more flexible, it’s also a compact design that lets the G8000 use slightly smaller airfields than one would otherwise expect an aircraft of this range and size to access.

Accommodation is endlessly configurable but the bottom line is this; your G8000 can be configured in four zones, in addition to a galley and crew rest area up behind the cockpit. Roughly speaking, Zone 1 is the VVIP section, Zone 2 can be configured for dining, Zone 3 is usually set up with a divan/bed facing a television, while Zone 4 is the spot for a stateroom or office, plus a separate bathroom (which even has scope for a shower). Back here there’s also direct access to the baggage hold.

To ram home the ways in which PJ people steal a march on even first class customers, we were given a sample breakfast concocted (and served) by chef Tom Aikens and wellness guru Rosemary Ferguson, both of whom talked us through a menu designed not to trouble digestion whilst allowing the body to slowly burn through the calories.

We recently revealed PriestmanGoode’s conceptual design for the Private Sanctuary jet. Is aerial wellness the next big trend in private aviation? Is so, Bombardier is already delivering a baseline experience that far exceeds even the loftiest expectations.

Bombardier Global 8000, from $83m, Bombardier.com, @Bombardier_Jets