Bombardier Learjet 75

Updated: October 2026 – A slender jet with a T-tail taxis to the general aviation apron, small, upturned winglets at the wingtips. At first glance a Learjet like many others. But if your tracking service shows LJ75, you have the last chapter of an aviation legend in front of your lens: the Learjet 75, the last newly built Learjet ever. Here you read how the type came about, how to tell it from the almost identical Learjet 45 and why production ended in 2021/22.

What is the Learjet 75?

The Learjet 75 is a twinjet business jet for up to nine passengers and two pilots. It comes from Bombardier, which had taken over the venerable Learjet brand in 1990, and was assembled at the Learjet plant in Wichita, Kansas. That is where it all began in 1963: on October 7, 1963, the first Learjet 23 flew – the jet with which Bill Lear practically invented the segment of small, fast business travel aircraft.

The Learjet 75 is not a completely new aircraft but a thorough modernization of the Learjet 45XR. Bombardier unveiled it in May 2012 together with the shorter sister Learjet 70, which replaced the Learjet 40XR. Converted 40XRs and 45XRs served as test aircraft, two of which were already in the air with the new technology in summer 2012. On November 14, 2013, the US aviation authority FAA granted type certification for the Learjet 75, and the first deliveries had already started in October 2013.

What is new compared with the 45XR? Four points stand out:

• Engines: Two Honeywell TFE731-40BR engines with about 17.1 kN of thrust each and thrust reversers. Behind the engine is Honeywell Aerospace, whose TFE731 family was already in the Learjet 35.
• Cockpit: A Garmin G5000 with large displays and touchscreen controls replaces the older avionics.
• Aerodynamics: Redesigned, more efficient winglets and less drag. Together with about 90 kilograms less weight in the nose, that adds up to a few percent more range.
• Cabin: A completely revised interior with a flat floor, about 1.50 meters wide and 1.55 meters high.

Learjet 70, 75 and 75 Liberty: the versions

The family is manageable, but the differences matter for collectors.

The Learjet 70 remained a niche model: its production was idle from 2016 at the latest due to a lack of orders, and only 13 examples were built. If you spot an LJ70 in tracking, you have caught a real rarity.

The Learjet 75 Liberty came in June 2019. Instead of up to nine, there are six seats here, and the equipment is leaner. Bombardier wanted to appeal to customers who would otherwise have ended up with light jets such as the Embraer Phenom 300 or the Cessna Citation CJ4. The manufacturer quoted a range of about 2,080 nautical miles for the Liberty. Externally it does not differ from the regular 75, and in tracking, too, it appears as LJ75.

The end of Learjet production

On February 11, 2021, Bombardier announced it would end production of all Learjet models by the end of 2021. The group wanted to concentrate on the larger, higher-margin families Challenger and Global, such as the Global 7500. Demand had fallen noticeably in the years before: in 2016, 24 Learjet 70/75s still went to customers, in 2017 only 14.

The last aircraft, a Learjet 75 Liberty, left the assembly line in Wichita in January 2022. It was delivered on March 28, 2022 to the customer Northern Aircraft Management. That ended, after almost six decades, the building of new Learjets. In total, across all models, the brand has produced more than 3,000 aircraft. Bombardier has promised to keep supporting the fleet – so Learjets will stay in the air for a long time, there just won’t be any new ones.

For spotters, this has a clear consequence: the population is finite. New registrations only come about through changes of owner, not through new builds. How to find out an aircraft’s year of manufacture is explained in Finding out an aircraft’s age.

How to recognize the Learjet 75

You know the basic shape from all Learjets: slender fuselage, T-tail, two engines at the rear. For fine identification, three steps help.

How to find a specific aircraft by registration and look up its data is covered in Tracking an aircraft by registration.

Risk of mix-ups: family and competition

Many types crowd the Learjet 75’s size class. The finder narrows down the candidates.

The most important look-alike is the Learjet 45, from which the 75 emerged. The Hawker 800XP looks much stockier and does not carry its horizontal stabilizer at the very top. The Citation Excel/XLS carries its horizontal stabilizer much lower on the vertical stabilizer, the larger Citation Latitude does have a T-tail but a visibly thicker fuselage. The Pilatus PC-24 and the Phenom 300 also have a T-tail but look shorter and stubbier. The Gulfstream G280 and the Challenger 300 play a class higher and are noticeably bigger. An overview of the big families is given by the guide Telling business jet types apart.

Who flies the Learjet 75?

The Learjet 75 is mainly in private and commercial hands: companies, owners and charter operators use it for routes that are too long for light jets and too short for large-cabin jets. With a range of about 2,040 nautical miles, or roughly 3,780 kilometers, it manages European distances without a stopover with no problem. The high service ceiling of 51,000 feet continues the Learjet tradition of flying above the dense scheduled traffic.

Many aircraft are registered in North America; in Europe, you meet the type under various registration prefixes. Specific fleet numbers of individual operators change constantly through sales; if in doubt, check them up to date via the registration.

Where you come across the Learjet 75

Business jets gather where money, trade fairs and tourism come together. Typical places in Europe:

• Geneva: Geneva Airport is one of the biggest business jet hubs in Europe. From the observation deck, you have a good view of the traffic; tips are in the Geneva plane spotting guide.
• Paris-Le Bourget: The pure business travel airport Paris-Le Bourget is a hotspot all year round, and every two years the Paris Air Show is added.
• Côte d’Azur: At Nice Airport, business jet traffic rises noticeably in summer.
• Salzburg: At Salzburg Airport, the winter season and festivals bring many business travel jets. Good locations are the observation deck and the area around Hangar-7.
• London: London Luton Airport has a large share of private and business flights.

More on spotting small jets and propeller aircraft can be found in Spotting general aviation and in the guide Spotting business jets.

Photo tips for the Learjet 75

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Conclusion

The Learjet 75 is the final chapter of a brand that invented the small, fast business jet more than 60 years ago. Technically, it is a consistently modernized Learjet 45 with new engines, Garmin cockpit and more efficient winglets. About 169 aircraft of the 70/75 family were built, and the last one went to its customer in March 2022. For you as a spotter, that means: the fleet no longer grows, and anyone who catches an LJ75 – or even one of the only 13 LJ70s built – captures a piece of aviation history on camera.