Bombardier Aerospace kicked off the 44th Paris Air Show by setting new speed records with flights from the USA, Canada, Germany and Northern Ireland to France. The Learjet 31A arrived in Paris directly from Belfast, Northern Ireland, taking one hour two minutes to fly 469 nautical miles.

The Learjet 45 arrived from Montreal, Canada, after a short stop in Keflavik, Iceland, taking only seven hours 58 minutes to fly 3,291 nautical miles.

The aircraft actually set two additional records for both the Montreal - Keflavik and the Keflavik - Paris legs.

The Learjet 60 arrived from Wichita, US, having made a single fuel stop in Gander, Newfoundland, taking only nine hours 19 minutes to fly 4,217 nautical miles. In addition, the aircraft set a new record for its Gander - Paris leg.

The Challenger 604 arrived direct from Berlin-Schönefeld Airport in Germany taking one hour 14 minutes to fly 475 nautical miles.

The Bombardier Global Express flew transatlantic from White Plains, USA, taking six hours three minutes to fly 3,170 nautical miles.

The various speed records will be officially ratified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) and the National Aeronautics Association (NAA).

An NAA observer was present on each aircraft to record their official times of arrival.

James Little, vp of marketing and communications at Bombardier Aerospace credited the pilots, crews and their aircraft for completing five record flights originating from Europe and North America:

"We're extremely proud of our tradition of global aerospace firsts at Bombardier Aerospace - from the first ever Learjet 23 to the Global Express.

“Our aircraft have established performance standards in their various classes since the early

60s and we're extremely pleased that we are able to demonstrate both the versatility and the efficiency of our entire business aircraft product line in this obvious way," concluded Little.