Bombardier retains spot as No. 2 business jet maker by shipment value: report

A Bombardier Challenger 650 aircraft cockpit is shown under construction at Bombardier's Challenger manufacturing plant in Montreal, Wednesday, April 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

A new report shows Bombardier retained its position as the world’s second-largest business jet manufacturer by value in 2024, despite falling a few planes short of its projected output.

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association study states that last year the Montreal-based maker of luxury planes delivered 146 aircraft valued at US$7 billion.

The figures notched above the 138 jets valued at US$6.8 billion that it churned out in 2023. But it comes in below the company’s 150-aircraft minimum laid out in its full-year projection for 2024.

The report says rival Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. recorded US$8.3 billion in billings, beating Bombardier’s sales figures while delivering 10 fewer planes.

Bombardier routinely beats Gulfstream in the number of planes produced, but it has failed to rake in more money than its Savannah, Ga.-based competitor since 2012.

The study says overall industry shipments of business jets rose nearly five per cent to 764 units, while billings jumped more than 14 per cent to US$26.7 billion.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2025.