Bombardier Signs First Two Continental Customers

Bombardier Business Aircraft signed its first two customers for the new midsize Continental on Monday, the day after the aircraft was introduced at NBAA '98. Committing to the aircraft in front of the mock-up on the exhibit floor were Rainer Wenz, chairman of Frankfurt-based Jet Connection, and Sheik Saleh M. Al-Sharqi, a private operator from the United Arab Emirates. Both are existing Bombardier customers.

Jet Connection currently operates a Learjet 55 and a Learjet 60 in charter operations throughout Europe. The company signed a letter of intent for the Continental eight months ago after seeing the specs, according to CEO Tilman Danker. Al-Sharqi described himself as a longtime Learjet operator and said that Learjet--now a unit of Bombardier--"is the best."

The Continental, which will require 30 firm orders for an official launch, probably in April, is being designed to transport eight passengers 3,100 nmi. It will be powered by AlliedSignal AS907s de-rated to about 6,200 pounds of thrust. Cruise will be 0.81 Mach at FL 410.

The Continental derives its name from the fact it will be able fly coast-to-coast against 99% probability headwinds. The manufacturer believes the airplane will fill a void in its business jet lineup between the 2,300-nm Learjet 60 and the 4,000-nm Challenger 604.