We live in the golden age of collaboration.
No one is staying in their lane, often to thrilling results. The latest head-turning pairing: Bombardier and Elie Saab. “Ours is a mutual customer,” says CEO of the Elie Saab Group Elie Saab Jr at the unveiling event Bombardier’s flagship Aviator Lounge in Monaco. It’s an announcement worthy of its setting; not just in Monaco but during the principality’s 2026 Formula 1 Grand Prix, the highlight of the high-octane calendar, when there’s a literal buzz in the air. The news of this latest team-up only ratchets up the spectacle.
Elie Saab first ventured into the interiors world in 2019 and recently debuted a coterie of branded residences. “We want to deliver an experience [to our customers] everywhere they go,” says Saab Jr. However, this is the brand’s first aviation mash up.
A longtime customer, Saab always wanted to design a jet – a Bombardier, as it’s most distinctly linked to his childhood memories of flying. Yet despite the longstanding relationship, the partnership remains groundbreaking for the private aviation industry. While big-name designers are often tapped by aircraft owners to bring style to the skies in one-off jobs, this is the first time an aircraft manufacturer has offered a high-design interior of this pedigree and caliber as an option – in this case for the extra-large cabins of Bombardier’s superlative Global 8000, first launched in December 2025.
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Reaching top speeds of Mach 0.95, the Global 8000 is already billed as the fastest civil aircraft since the Concorde (the latest speed record clocked just over six hours from HQ in Montreal to Nice, France); but, if the rendered previews live up to expectation, this best-in-class ultra-long-range aircraft may also take the title of chicest with a sweeping sand-hued palette; deeply plush tactile fabrics on Bombardier’s signature Nuage (French for ‘cloud’) seats; and outré additions (see: a five-seat divan sofa, his-and-hers walk-in closets, and a dramatic Patagonia stone bathroom).
“It comes together like a small coocoon,” says Saab, “like a small universe, where you can feel at peace and where you have that sense of elegance.” It also feels unmistakably residential, with a stateroom that flows into the closet, and finally into the show-stopping bathroom with a sculptural capsule shower accented in espresso-colored wood and the exquisite mosaic-like stonework. “We wanted to deliver a configuration that could be an eye-opener for some people who maybe already own a business jet.”
Throughout, a few discreet, almost invisible logos add a whisper of if-you-know-you-know luxury, while a specially developed geometric bird pattern repeating across the bulkhead marquetry, carpets, and cushions serves as a symbolic hat tip to Bombardier’s technical achievements. “The biggest differentiator between a Bombardier plane and any other plane is the wing,” says Bombardier’s president and CEO, Éric Martel of the brand’s pivotal Smooth Flĕx Wing.
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With leading-edge slats and a flexible design to absorb turbulence, the wing tech helps Bombardier jets access around 30 percent more airports than rival aircraft. The brand also claims it makes for the smoothest ride in the skies with less cabin vibration. “We’ve always pushed to have the best wing because it brings performance and comfort, and that’s the idea of the abstract bird logo.”
With two different configurations (three or four zones), the haute couture Elie Saab interior is now available as an option on all new Global 8000 aircraft, as well as on Global 7500s being upgraded.
