MONTREAL: Learjet, the sleek private jet used by celebrities for decades, is ending production this year, following a slump in demand due to competition from newer and less-expensive rivals.
Long before COVID-19 hit demand in 2020, the arrival of less-expensive similar-sized models from Embraer SA and Textron Inc's Cessna eroded Learjet demand.
Created by American entrepreneur Bill Lear, the Learjet 23 first took off from Wichita, Kansas in 1963, forging a new market for modern business aircraft with owners like Frank Sinatra, while shattering speed records.
Some 3000 Learjets, which seat up to nine passengers, have since taken to the skies with a bullet-shaped nose, capable of flying close to the speed of sound at Mach 0.81.
Bombardier, which acquired Learjet in 1990, said last week production would end this year. But it will service the plane, which accounts for about 42 percent of its in-service fleet of just under 5,000 business aircraft, according to JETNET data.
Learjet's performance, described by some private pilots as the closest they'd ever get to flying a fighter jet, couldn't beat rivals' lower cost.
"Less equipped aircraft at smaller price points drove demand," Bombardier spokesman Mark Masluch said.
Embraer's Phenom, for example, listed for about $9 million, compared with a Learjet 75, at around $13 million.
"Customers want a nice Mercedes in that segment, but I don't know if they want a Ferrari anymore," said aerospace analyst Rolland Vincent, comparing Learjet to the Italian sports car.
Meanwhile, wealthy buyers increasingly sought larger-cabin jets, like General Dynamics Corp's Gulfstream and Bombardier's own Global series with showers, beds and ranges connecting far-flung cities without refueling.
Keeping older planes relevant through upgrades in an industry that covets the latest model is a useful lesson for planes like Bombardier's Challenger 650, said Vincent.
Masluch said the 650 remains competitive in its market space and appeals to certain segments.
"It's been a cash cow for them," Vincent said of the 600 plane family which first flew in 1978. "But cash-cows have a way of getting fat."
Bombardier's plans for a larger Learjet 85, made of lightweight composites, didn't materialize, ending in a $1.2 billion write-down in 2015.
Bombardier tried to compete on price in 2019, by launching the Liberty Learjet 75 at $9.9 million.
The plane nabbed an order as an air ambulance, a niche vocation for the Learjet.
Still, Learjet lost ground, with just 11 deliveries last year, compared with 112 deliveries in 2001, according to JETNET data and Bombardier.
"At the end of the day there were more current options out there," said Guardian Jet managing partner Don Dwyer.
But the fast and sleek Learjet will always have its supporters, said Adam Twidell, chief executive at Private Fly.
The global booking service for charter flights still gets requests from passengers to "'keep my Lear waiting,'" he said. (Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal Editing by Denny Thomas, Diane Craft and Franklin Paul)
Learjet, the private plane synonymous with the jet-set, nears end of runway
https://arab.news/pmecj
Learjet, the private plane synonymous with the jet-set, nears end of runway
- Created by American entrepreneur Bill Lear, the Learjet 23 first took off from Wichita, Kansas in 1963
Dubai inflation eases to 2.7% in November
RIYADH: Dubai’s annual inflation rate slowed to 2.7 percent in November, down from 3.4 percent in the previous month, according to official data released by Dubai Statistical Center.
The main cause of the slowdown was a decline in transport prices, which decreased by 1.9 percent month on month.
On an annual basis, transport prices witnessed a moderate rise of 0.2 percent in November compared to a 4.2 percent increase the previous month.
The steady inflation rate aligns with the wider trend observed in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, where countries are successfully navigating price shocks by adopting effective economic policies.
In November, Saudi Arabia witnessed an inflation rate of 1.9 percent, down from 2.2 percent observed in October.
Commenting on Dubai’s inflation figure, Emirates NBD, a government-owned bank, commented: “The primary driver of the cooldown in inflation in November was the transport component, which accounts for around 9 percent of the CPI ( consumer price index) basket and has long been the primary driver of monthly inflation volatility in Dubai.”
According to DSC, the housing and utilities sector, which accounts for 40.68 percent of the Emirates’ CPI basket, witnessed a 5.3 percent year-on-year rise in November.
The prices for food and beverages, which make up 11.66 percent of the CPI basket, also increased by 0.7 percent in November compared to the same month in the previous year.
Conversely, the prices of clothing and footwear declined by 0.8 percent year on year in November.
“Annualized inflation has averaged 2.8 percent over January to November and is likely to come in just marginally higher than our long-held forecast for an average of 2.6 percent,” said Emirates NBD.
It added: “We expect price growth to remain at a broadly similar level in 2026, forecasting an average of 2.5 percent over the course of the year.”
In October, a report by the International Monetary Fund noted that inflation in the GCC region is expected to average at 1.7 percent in 2025 and 2 percent in 2026, underscoring the bloc’s resilience to global price pressures.
