Flint’s favorite transportation choice nears an end

Poster for In Like Flint

Learjet, once the preferred mode of transport for 1960s spy Derek Flint, is nearing the end of its run.

Learjet is ending production this year, Reuters reported. Demand for Lear aircraft has been affected by Embraer SA and Textron Inc’s Cessna, according to the news service.

In the two-film Flint film series, Derek Flint (James Coburn) was a fan of jetting about in a Learjet. In fact, Learjet founder Bill Lear (1902-1978) made a cameo in In Like Flint. The real-life Bill Lear presents Flint with a new model jet. Lear was billed as W.P. Lear Sr. in the end titles.

Bill Lear began the company in 1963 and sold it off in 1967.

The Reuters article provides this background about the impending end of Learjet:

Bombardier, which acquired Learjet in 1990, said last week production would end this year. But it will service the plane, which accounts for about 42% of its in-service fleet of just under 5,000 business aircraft, according to JETNET data.