Inside Bombardier and Elie Saab’s luxury private jet collaboration

Private jet specialist Bombardier sets the bar for luxury in a unique collaboration with couturier Elie Saab. Unveiled at the Monaco Grand Prix, the bespoke Global 8000 cabin blends ultra-long-range performance with couture-inspired craftsmanship.

The Monaco Grand Prix offers many a vertiginous statistic: from the 42-metre elevation change in the track from Sainte-Dévote to Place du Casino, to the nearly 800 per cent increase in population across Monte Carlo over the three-day event, not to mention the as-yet uncalculated but presumably epic consumption of champagne across the grandstands. Where else would two of the world’s most finely tuned luxury brands choose to launch a boundary-breaking collaboration?

For Montreal-based Bombardier, the Grand Prix is almost a second home, with the event drawing more than 500 private jets over the weekend. The company launched the first Global 8000 into service in December 2025, and with it set a new standard for speed (an industry-leading Mach 0.95), the lowest cabin altitude in business aviation
(820 metres), and a range of 8,000 nautical miles, meaning up to 17 hours of non-stop flight time. 

It can also land safely at 2,000 more airports than any other ultra-long-range jet – including the notoriously tricky runways at Samedan, Telluride and Gstaad. Both VistaJet and BOND have committed billions to the aircraft since its unveiling, so confident are the fractional ownership companies in its capabilities and client demand.

Enter stage left: Elie Saab, the ultra-exclusive Lebanese fashion and homeware maison. It might seem a surprising partnership – Bombardier’s data-driven, precision engineering meeting Elie Saab’s A-list clientele and scene-stealing fashion week moments – but dig a little deeper and you find that both brands have a passion for architecture and design that unites them effortlessly.

Elie Saab was founded in Beirut by its eponymous owner in the early 1980s. The couture specialist had a talent for combining brilliantly constructed silhouettes with the most intricate detailing and beadwork on ethereal fabrics, and Elie Saab has since grown into a global lifestyle brand that now extends its aesthetic into a maison specialising in home furnishings made entirely in Italy, a ready-to- wear line and even real-estate partnerships. 

Many a stylish woman photographed on the F1 trackside or watching from on board a boat could be seen dressed in the brand’s designs. And it’s on this point that Elie Saab meets Bombardier on an altogether different kind of runway than the fashion house  is used to dominating, in this first of its kind collaboration. 

The meeting of minds happened  by chance – when Elie Saab Jr met Ève Laurier, Bombardier’s VP of Communications at the F1 in Abu Dhabi some months before, and what started as a light-hearted conversation about the brands’ shared values turned into a bigger picture question – could such a partnership work? 

Each returned home and Laurier posed the question to Bombardier’s CEO Éric Martel, and in a flash the teams got cracking, with Saab Jr and Martel playing a hands-on role in the decision-making process down to the finest of details.

In Monte Carlo, in a room at Bombardier’s elegant lounge at the Monaco Yacht Club before the Friday practice sessions begin on the circuit above, the pair are relaxed. They speak with passion about the challenges and triumphs encountered in developing a project that would effortlessly reflect the nature of both brands with the ultimate in luxury at 16,000 metres. 

For Martel, the aim was “to push the boundaries, to offer something that nobody else has done before, and [Elie Saab] brought in that creativity and pushed us. It’s actually a beautiful piece of art.” 

The resulting cabin blends the desire for comfort – and at times privacy – with a harmonious layout that has echoes of a private residence, divided into three zones (rather than the standard four). When boarding, club seating is found in the forward lounge, with customised Elie Saab seats and the maison’s distinct stitching and a branded headrest. The central lounge area anchors the space and aims to emulate family-style living. 

Redesigned with additional oppositional seating and a dining table, the custom five-seater sofa is crafted in an organic, flowing shape that leads you into the stateroom, where alongside the classic double, you’ll now find a single daybed – perfect for those with a child or an extra guest who needs a little shut-eye. Seamless sliding doors mean privacy is easily achieved between all three sections.

All of this is finished with Elie Saab’s signature organic cashmeres, soft leathers, bouclé headrests and cushions. Birds in flight are intricately carved in signature marquetry across door panels and cabinetry, and woven into the plush carpets. 

Additional features include a walk-in wardrobe – an essential, says the Bombardier team, when working with such a celebrated fashion house, and a bathroom complete with shower in a colourway named Patagonia, which is unique to the project. The palette across the cabin is a blend of neutral hues, designed to elicit relaxation.

“Bombardier already do design amazingly, but what we did together was to take this design to another level and push the boundaries for both of us,” reflects Elie Saab Jr. Whether melding the rules of fashion and physics, this is not Elie Saab’s first foray into new fields – keen yacht-watchers will know that its interiors arm has been hard at work on the Maiora 42 Exuma with NEXT Yacht Group, extending the maison’s design DNA to a 360-degree remit of land, sea and sky. bombardier.com

First published in the August 2026 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.