Bizjet makers put their accumulated bizjet knowledge into design of the next generation, but Dennis Keith, president of Business Jet Solutions at Bombardier, told Show News that the new Continental includes something extra so that it can better meet the increased demands of fractional ownership.
"Knowing from the outset that Bombardier will be operating its own aircraft [in its FlexJets fractional scheme], we can use our knowledge of airliner manufacture in the basic design," said Keith.

"Reliability is the key. We know how to design aircraft which will fly 1,500 or more hours per year. From day one, thousands of decisions on the Continental have been affected by this knowledge."
The builder/operator relationship will have future benefits for the whole of the business jet world, says Keith--although, understandably, Bombardier will be first to profit.

"Because we keep all the sales margin on fractional ownership instead of having part taken by a middle man, we have more funds available for reinvestment, so giving Bombardier the opportunity to build even better aircraft.

"Our competitors can't design specifically for the high demands of fractional use, "says Keith, "as they don't know whether their aircraft will be selected for that market. We do."