Flush with cash, Bombardier mulls new plane as part of potential production ramp-up

The head of Bombardier Inc. says the luxury plane maker is considering a production ramp-up that could include a new plane program, as the company weighs how to spend a cash-flow surge.

Chief executive Éric Martel told analysts Thursday he's giving "strong consideration" to capital investments that will allow the Montreal-based manufacturer to churn out more business jets.

"There's clearly a serious potential here for us to consider increasing our rate. The backlog is strong. The demand remains strong. We want to make sure that we continue to protect our market share," he told a conference call to discuss the company's latest results.

About half of Bombardier's capital spending will go toward product improvement and "staying competitive, which could include a new airplane," he said.

"We're going to make that decision based on what our competitors are doing, what is our customer demanding and also what new technology could be offered out there."

As it stands, Bombardier makes a mid-size and large jet under its Challenger series as well as three ultra-long-range Global jets. The company is the second-largest business jet manufacturer by revenue, behind Georgia-based rival Gulfstream, and enjoys a 20 per cent market share, according to S&P Global.

Bombardier raised its forecast for free cash flow in 2026 to more than US$1.3 billion versus roughly US$1 billion previously. The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reaffirmed its outlook for revenue and adjusted earnings.

Bombardier's order book has swelled this year. Its backlog increased 34 per cent year-over-year to US$22.2 billion, though most of that growth came earlier in 2026. Its book-to-bill ratio — a measure of orders received to sales billed, a key indicator of near-term demand for a company’s services — climbed to 1.7.

Martel said demand remains sturdy "across the board" — in North America, Europe and Asia, with one exception.

"The only place where we've seen some slowdown was in the Middle East, and I think it's pretty obvious with everything going on over there people have their attention somewhere else," he said, referring to the Iran war. He stressed that long-term demand for luxury planes in the region persists.

Bombardier delivered 33 jets in the quarter ended Sept. 30. Martel said it remains on track to furnish clients with a total of more than 157 planes for the full year.

Much of that demand comes from private charter airlines, which Bombardier began to court aggressively about three years ago.

The number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals across the globe will grow by about six per cent each year over the next half-decade or so, Martel said. "These people don't have access right away or they don't need sometimes their own airplane — the majority of them probably will go to a fleet operator."

Fleet operators, which offer purchase options ranging from loyalty-style programs to so-called fractional ownership — buying a share of plane — can mean more money for Bombardier's thriving maintenance and repair business.

"We love the business with the fleet operators because they usually fly five if not six times more than a regular customer, meaning that they will consume more in our services business," Martel said.

Bombardier's services revenue rose to a new high of US$701 million last quarter, representing 29 per cent of total revenue.

Net income fell five per cent year-over-year in the third quarter to US$81 million, while revenue rose three per cent to US$2.37 billion.

On an adjusted basis, Bombardier said it earned US$1.72 per share, up from an adjusted profit of US$1.21 per share a year earlier and roughly on par with analysts' expectations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2026.

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By Christopher Reynolds | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.