Bombardier Aerospace has won regulatory approval for the Learjet 40 which was announced at Farnborough just over a year ago. The company says the aircraft, a derivative of the Learjet 45, will

enter into corporate service in the first quarter of 2004 with both traditional operators and with Bombardier’s Flexjet fractional ownership programme.

John Holding, Bombardier’s executive vice-president, engineering and product development, said: “There were no surprises, no major issues and the authorities are clearly pleased with the aircraft. JAA certification is expected in the first quarter of 2004.”

Bombardier says the Learjet 40

is capable of operating at cruise speeds of up to Mach 0.81 and

has a maximum range of 1,857 nautical miles.