Bombardier Aerospace (Chalet A256) announced the sale of 10 of its new Global 8000 business aircraft to charter provider VistaJet, which becomes launch customer for the type. The firm order is valued at around $650 million, bringing the European operator’s order backlog of Bombardier aircraft to $2 billion. The long-range 8000 is due to enter service in 2017.

Last month VistaJet placed an order at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) for six Global 6000 and two Challenger 605 jets. The company is expanding rapidly across developing markets, such as Asia, the Middle East, West Africa and Russia/CIS, where there are more requests for longer range aircraft.

“We are seeing unprecedented demand in fast-growth regions, which account for over 75 percent of all our flights,” said VistaJet chairman Thomas Flohr. He added that the customers in those locations frequently fly sector legs of typically between five to ten hours.

The Canadian airframer has also enjoyed success with Australia’s AVWest, which placed firm orders for four Global 7000 and two Global 8000 types, two of which were placed earlier this year. The total value of this order is approximately $400 million U.S.