Vista deliveries start immediately

opinion

by Alasdair Whyte

February 16, 2026

Thomas Flohr told CJI: "Demand is strong and we wanted to lock in capacity for the next 10 years.”

Every aircraft sale has a story behind it. This is especially true with large fleet orders, like Vista Global’s firm order for 40 Challenger 3500 aircraft last week. But it is rare for it to be as obvious. The key line in the press release says: “Deliveries will begin immediately in 2026.”

This is hugely significant. Bombardier announced strong financial results last week. It sold 1.4 aircraft for each one it delivered in 2025. This meant that it ended the year with a $17.5bn backlog, up $3.1bn from December 2024. The days of being able to snatch a cheeky slot in the next quarter are long gone. Well, unless you are Thomas Flohr, Vista Global’s founder. He also negotiated options on 120 aircraft.

The fact that Vista has been given slots in 2026 for its firm orders demonstrates his unique relationship with Bombardier. Flohr’s first aircraft was a Learjet. Since then he has stayed loyal to the Canadian manufacturer, ordering more than $10bn of aircraft. These delivery positions show that Bombardier still values this relationship.

That is not to say that Flohr has received the same discounts that he may have got when he placed orders in the barren years following the Global Financial Crisis or in early 2021 during Covid. But in 2026, slots are more valuable. This is particularly true with Bombardier’s popular Challenger 3500 super-mid size aircraft.

“Demand is strong and we wanted to lock in capacity for the next 10 years,” Flohr told Corporate Jet Investor. “We have a great relationship with Bombardier and we are very happy with the timing of the deliveries. The options that we placed are also well timed with good flexibility.”

Bombardier also knew the deal was coming for some time. Flohr had been discussing the order for more than a year with serious negotiations taking place over the past four months. He did talk with other manufacturers but he says he was always keen to stick with Bombardier. Vista Global already operates more than 100 Challenger aircraft. It also worked with Bombardier to add the pocket door and a jump seat for the flight attendant to the Challenger 300 family to improve the cabin experience.

“The more aircraft that you have on the same platform, the easier it is to scale,” says Flohr. “It is easier for simulators, for pilots, for parts and maintenance.”

Flohr says that Vista Global’s members grew by 12% in 2025 with programme member flight hours up 16% on 2024. Flights for members in the US rose 11% and were up 15% in Europe. The fastest growing markets were the Middle East (32%), Asia (22%) and Africa (30%).

This global customer base is another benefit for Bombardier because it reduces the risk of new US tariffs affecting deliveries. President Donald Trump has already threatened 50% tariffs because of Transport Canada certification delays. He is also rumoured to be considering withdrawing from the US, Mexico and Canada (USMCA) Trade Agreement. USMCA means new aircraft deliveries into the US are not affected by tariffs.

Bombardier’s fourth-quarter financial results show the company lowered its dependence on US deliveries during the past year. The US still accounted for 56% of the aircraft manufacturer’s 2025 revenue, but this was down from 64% in 2024, even as Bombardier’s sales increased by 10%.

The Canadian manufacturer had a strong 2025. It had total sales of $9.5bn and a 47% jump in adjusted profit to $805m. Free cash flow generation rose $840m to $1.1bn in 2025.

This cash allowed it to pay off $400m in debt in 2025. This improved its adjusted net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio from 2.9x in 2024 to 1.9x at year-end. Bombardier said it plans to get this to 1.5x.

Bombardier is in a very different place to the company that Éric Martel, its CEO, took over in April 2020. In the past five years he has managed it through Covid, disposed of its commercial aircraft and rail businesses and seen strong growth in business aircraft sales (including defence) and services.

But Bombardier’s chairman Pierre Beaudoin and Martel (who was also at the manufacturer between 2002 and 2015) have not forgotten how important Vista was during the tough times. It is because of this 22-year relationship that Flohr’s deliveries begin immediately.