Elie Saab & Bombardier Bring Haute Couture to Private Aviation

“No One Is Staying in Their Lane”: Why Elie Saab Is Now Designing Private Jets

In an exclusive interview, Elie Saab Jr. and Bombardier's CEO explain how a shared clientele inspired one of private aviation's most ambitious partnerships.

©Bombardier

We live in the golden age of collaboration.

No one is staying in their lane, often to thrilling results. The latest head-turning pairing: aviation leader Bombardier and Elie Saab, the Lebanon-founded brand known for red-carpet moments and regal clientele. “Ours is a mutual customer,” says Elie Saab Jr., CEO of the Elie Saab Group, which 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.”

Bombardier ellie saab jet
©Bombardier

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.

See also: The Best Private Jet Interior Designers You Need to Know

Bombardier ellie saab jet
©Bombardier

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), this best-in-class ultra-long-range aircraft may now 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).

Bombardier ellie saab jet
©Bombardier

“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. “We wanted to deliver a configuration that could be an eye-opener for some people who maybe already own a business jet.”

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Bombardier ellie saab jet
©Bombardier

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 advanced wing design with leading-edge slats, which grant access to around 30 percent more airports than rival aircraft. “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.

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