Blog: Eulogy for Icon Learjet
Production is ending for the more than half-century-old brand, whose name became synonymous with “business jet.”
Bombardier announced yesterday that it was taking its iconic Learjet brand off life support and ending its production. It is a sad end for the name long generically associated with business jets as much as Coke is with cola.
More than 3,000 Learjets have been delivered since 1964 but only 11 were turned over to buyers in 2020. In recent years, moreover, production had been anemic and the product line had shrunk to one model: the 75, an upgraded variant of the model 45, which first came to market in 1998. Bombardier, currently struggling under a mountain of debt, said it will continue to support the Learjet fleet and offer upgrades—for now, at least—but needs to focus on its more lucrative Challenger and Global bizjet lines.
More In Aircraft
