Bombardier announced on August 29th, 2013, at the MAKS 2013 Air Show in Moscow, that IIyushin Finance will lease five CS300 aircraft to Vim Airlines. IFC earlier in 2013 agreed to an order for 32 of the aircraft from Bombardier, with options for 10 additional aircraft. Vim Airlines will be IFC’s first lessee of the CS300.
Aug 28 2013
Bombardier and Rostec sign MOU for Russian Q400 production
On August 28th, 2013, Bombardier announced at the Moscow Air Show that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Rostec of Russia to, as was stated, “validate” the prospect of establishing a final assembly line for the Q400 turboprop in Russia.
The MOU was also announced with a letter on intent for the sale of fifty Q400 aircraft to Ilyushin Finance Company and a “market development agreement” with Rostec and its leasing subsidiary, Avia Capital Services, to place another fifty Q400 aircraft in the region.
Bombardier called the creation of a Q400 assembly line in Russia a “key” commercial requirement and a fundamental component of the series of agreements. The two companies forecast the creation of a joint venture by the end of 2014.
Bombardier explained that the assembly line would produce aircraft for Russian airlines and other regional customers only, while the assembly line at Downsview would supply Q400 aircraft to the rest of the world.
Currently there are more than 120 Bombardier commercial aircraft operating in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States with Bombardier forecasting a market of approximately 400 aircraft in the 20 to 99 seat range over the next 20 years.
The company believes there is particularly strong potential for the Q400, which in June 2012 received type approval in Russia and subsequently entered service with Yakutia Airlines.
While this news was released in a positive light by the company, there remains the issue of union agreements at the Q400 manufacturing facility which state that Q400 final production is to occur at Downsview. It is unclear what effect this announcement will have on future plans at that facility, or whether Bombardier will attempt to renegotiate its agreement with its unions.
Aug 27 2013
Bombardier refutes analysts claims of losing ground to Embraer
After a well publicized article in which an analyst claimed that Bombardier will lose market share to Embraer over the neat term, Bombardier in interviews has indicated that it is unwilling to cede sales Embraer.
During interviews, Bombardier stood behind its products, including the CRJ regional jet family and noted that their aircraft are “considered the benchmark in regional jet efficiency in the category.” The company also noted that it is making progress in the growing aviation markets in Africa and Indonesia and Russia.
In spite of this, Embraer has won the majority of regional jet orders in the United States since 2012. Comparing the two companies in sales, Embraer has $4.9 billion in sales since late 2012 while Bombardier has booked $1.9 billion in sales in the same period.
The questions over Bombardier’s future came from Derek Spronck, an associate transportation analyst at RBC Capital Markets, who wrote that he expects Embraer’s market share between 2013 and 2015 will rise to 63 per cent going forward from its current level of 54 per cent.
Bombardier has delivered nearly 1,700 CRJ aircraft and has 91 aircraft in its order backlog as of June 30, 2013 which is equal to 55 months of production.
Aug 24 2013
CSeries aircraft FTV-1 rolls out of Paint Shop in full colours
Bombardier has released several images of the first CSeries aircraft, FTV-1, shortly after exiting Bombardier’s paint shop.
The colour scheme appears to be that which Bombardier has used in its promotional and other materials connected to the program.
The CSeries program continues to move towards first flight which sources have indicated is expected within the next two to three weeks.