Boundaries between business jets and airliners have blurred now that both Airbus and Boeing have extended their reach into the corporate world.
The super-large executive jet is not the only new niche product to have established itself at Paris '97, however. Manufacturers are also filling the gap between the mid-size and the ultra-long-range jets.
Newly-launched Galaxy Aerospace, a US company partnered with Israel Aircraft Industries, has made its debut appearance at Paris. The company is promoting its fast, mid-size Astra SPX, but also showcasing the Galaxy upper mid-size jet now under development.
The only jet competing in this market to date is the Raytheon Hawker Horizon, which clocked up another sale during the show.
Bombardier has revealed, however, that it is looking at also developing an aircraft in this range, to slot between its Learjet 60 and the Challenger 604.
In the high-profile, top-of-the-line sector, Gulfstream and Bombardier continue to do battle with the GV and the Global Express respectively.
But the real focus at Paris has been on the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) and the Airbus A319CJ Corporate Jet. Boeing's sales success with the BBJ is already remarkable - 20 aircraft since programme launch less than a year a go. Perhaps even more staggering is Boeing's statement at the show that it intends to ramp up production to 24 aircraft a year.
Airbus, meanwhile, anticipates selling around 12 A319CJs a year.
The traditional business jet manufacturers say they are not overly concerned about their new rivals, believing that such large airframes have limited appeal for the true executive, not least because their sheer size may appear ostentatious.
Bombardier chairman Laurent Beaudoin, the epitome of the modern executive, comments: "I think I would definitely feel shy about arriving in something like that."
Source: Flight Daily News
