In 1991 Canadair vice-president Laurent Beaudoin decided it was time for Canadair to build an entirely new plane; a corporate aircraft for the 21st Century.
The designers proposed the "Orient Express", a plane with a 10,400 - 10,550km range to fly non-stop between destinations like LA-Tokyo, Tokyo-London and London-LA in 12 hours.
Capable of flying at an altitude of 15,500m, the Express gave Beaudoin the plane that leapfrogged the competition. Renamed the Global Express, it was several more years before the project would be complete.
As the first aerospace project under the Bombardier name - the Global Express incorporated efforts of both Canadair Ltd. and de Havilland Canada design teams.
Scheduled to be certified in 1998 - it is the most recent aircraft to be produced by these Canadian companies.