When the economic downturn of 2007 struck, there were several bizjet segments that took a hit. Surprisingly, the largest cabin jets seemed not only immune to the crisis but to thrive on the turmoil. The sales of most light jets got knocked for a loop, but it was the midsize segment that spun out of control. The result was savvy bizjet makers going upscale with their midsize ambitions. Gulfstream’s G280 is a super midsize, though you might want to add a few more “supers” to it, and Dassault’s Falcon 2000EX, Bombardier’s Challenger 300 and even Cessna’s own Sovereign+ went upscale in terms of size, range or both in an attempt to seek out buyers who wanted more.
Traditional midsize jets went the way of the biplane, however. The Learjet 60 was discontinued in favor of the emerging Lear 85, which subsequently got scratched in light of a troubled development process and too-little interest. Hawkers by Beechcraft were eulogized — we loved them dearly — and that was about it. The only true midsize jets left are two newcomers, the Embraer Legacy 450 (which is nearing certification) and the Gulfstream G150, the much-enhanced Gulfstream version of what was originally the Astra SPX and a few things before that, and the Latitude. All cost between $15.5 and $16.5 million.
