Phenix Jet Cayman Adds First Bombardier Global 8000 to Cayman-Certificated Fleet

Phenix Jet Cayman, the Grand Cayman-based executive charter and aircraft management operator, has added a Bombardier Global 8000 to its managed fleet. It is the first of the type to fly under the company's Cayman Islands air operator's certificate. The company said on 13 October that it expects to take delivery of a second Global 8000 in the first quarter of 2027.

The aircraft, a 2025-built airframe, was placed on the Cayman Islands register in September, according to aviation industry fleet records. It has since been operating in the Asia-Pacific region, with flights recorded through Tokyo and Bangkok. The Global 8000 is Bombardier's flagship business jet, with a quoted top speed of Mach 0.94 and a range of 8,000 nautical miles at long-range cruise. The company said the move reflects growing demand among ultra-high-net-worth aircraft owners in the Asia-Pacific region and internationally to use Cayman-managed flight infrastructure.

Phenix Jet Cayman SEZC was established in February 2020 and is registered at Willow House, Cricket Square, George Town. It is a subsidiary of Japan's Sojitz Corporation, which acquired it in 2021 to hold a Cayman air operator's certificate for long-range charter flights. Sojitz also owns the U.S.-based Phenix Jet group, which holds a U.S. Part 135 certificate and operates from Teterboro, New Jersey, with bases in Hong Kong and Tokyo. Under the Cayman certificate, the Global 8000 joins a Global 7500, a Boeing Business Jet 737-700 and a Gulfstream G280 added in mid-2026, according to industry fleet records.

In June 2024, Phenix Jet announced plans to take two Global 8000s in 2026; at that time the group reported managing 19 aircraft across its U.S. and Cayman certificates, including six Global 7500s. Separately, Sojitz ordered one Global 6500 and one Global 8000 from Bombardier in October 2025 to support what it described as Japan's first shared-ownership programme for large, ultra-long-range business jets.

Placing a flagship ultra-long-range jet under a Cayman certificate is part of how management companies serving Asia-Pacific owners build capacity without relying on a single national regime. A Japanese parent holding a Cayman AOC alongside a U.S. Part 135 certificate lets one group route an aircraft to whichever certificate suits its mission, owner and region. For owners of large-cabin jets, the practical selling point is a managed fleet with charter capability behind it, which is the demand the operator itself cites.

The delivery timeline is the number that matters commercially. The first Global 8000 arrived roughly a year behind the 2026 plan announced in June 2024, which called for two aircraft that year, and the second is now pointed at the first quarter of 2027. Whether the schedule holds will show up in the Cayman register and in Bombardier's delivery flow.

The Sojitz order for a Global 6500 and a Global 8000, placed in October 2025 for a Japanese shared-ownership programme, is a separate thread running through the same group. How those aircraft are ultimately allocated between that programme and the Cayman managed fleet will become visible once registrations appear.