Bombardier Hosts John Travolta 'Pilot Talk' at NBAA in Las Vegas, Showcasing Global 8000

Montreal-based Bombardier hosted an "exclusive Pilot Talk" with two-time Oscar-nominated actor John Travolta, 72, at last week's National Business Aviation Association Convention and Exhibition in Las Vegas. According to Bombardier, Travolta shared personal experiences from 50 years of flying and discussed the moments that helped define him as a pilot.

Bombardier's display at the three-day convention and exhibition featured the flagship Global 8000 alongside the Global 6500 and Challenger 3500 aircraft. The company assembles the Global 8000 at its $670-million Aircraft Assembly Centre at Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga, Canada.

The Global 8000 officially took to the skies last December. It carries a price tag of $78 million and can seat 19 passengers. Its top operating speed is Mach 0.95 (about 1,164 km/h), and its range is 14,816 kilometers (9,206 miles / 8,000 nautical miles). Its creators described it early last year as the "ultimate time machine" and the "fastest civil aircraft since the Concorde."

Large-cabin, long-range jets in the $78-million class are sold to a small circle of owners and the advisers around them, and that circle responds to peer credibility as much as to performance data. A pilot with 50 years of flying behind him speaking on a manufacturer's stand is a way of putting the aircraft in front of exactly that audience at the segment's largest annual gathering.

The lineup on display also shows how a manufacturer frames its range at a show like this: the flagship Global 8000 leads, with the Global 6500 and Challenger 3500 positioned beneath it. For a program whose first flight was last December, trade-show exposure of this kind is part of how awareness builds ahead of deliveries.