Jul 10 2012

airBaltic Signs LOI for up to 20 Bombardier CSeries

Air Baltic logoBombardier announced on July 10th, 2012, that airBaltic has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to purchase 10 CS300 aircraft and take purchase rights on a further 10 CS300 jetliners as part of a fleet renewal program for the airline.

The airline is currently operating eight Bombardier Q400 NextGen turboprops as part of its fleet and sees the CSeries as a good match for these aircraft.

Including today’s announced LOI from airBaltic for 10 CS300 airliners and purchase rights for 10 CS300 airliners, as well as a conditional order for five CS100 and 10 CS300 jetliners placed by an unidentified customer earlier this week during the Farnborough Airshow, Bombardier has booked orders and commitments for 352 CSeries aircraft.

Current CSeries aircraft orders include firm orders for 138 CSeries airliners from Braathens Aviation (five CS100 and five CS300 aircraft), Deutsche Lufthansa AG (30 CS100 aircraft), Korean Air (10 CS300 aircraft), Lease Corporation International Group (17 CS300 and three CS100 aircraft), PrivatAir (five CS100 aircraft), Republic Airways (40 CS300 aircraft), an unidentified carrier (10 CS100 aircraft), an unidentified European customer (10 CS100 aircraft) and another unidentified airline (three CS100 aircraft).

The CSeries aircraft program also has options for 124 aircraft and purchase rights for 10 aircraft from these customers, as well as LOI’s for up to 30 CSeries aircraft from Ilyushin Finance Co, and for up to 15 CS300 aircraft from Atlasjet.

Jul 09 2012

AirAsia seeking a 160-seat version of Bombardier’s CSeries

AirAsia LogoBombardier and AirAsia have been in informal discussions over a 160-seat version of the CSeries aircraft.

The heads of both AirAsia and Bombardier indicated that informal talks had taken place prior to the 2012 Farnborough Airshow.

Bombardier is seeking sales in a market dominated by Airbus and Boeing but Bombardier only supports a market segment up to 130 seats with their new CSeries program. The 160-seat CSeries would have  a denser seating configuration than of the CS300 aircraft currently being prepared for construction in Montreal.

The 160-seat proposal would, if it becomes reality, move Bombardier into the middle of a market well defended by Airbus and Boeing, but Bombardier believes that 130 seats is the right size for the CSeries.

Jul 09 2012

Bombardier Q400 stretch on hold

Bombardier_logoReports indicate that Bombardier is considering a 90-seat version of its Q400 turboprop but will wait for engine advancements before committing to any such new version of the Dash 8 fleet.

Bombardier indicated that a simple stretch of the DHC-8Q-400 could be designed and built quickly, but there would not be a significant performance gain over the 70-seat version of the Dash 8 without a major improvement in the aircraft type’s engines. There appears to be no technical reason why a 90-seat DHC-8Q-900 could not be built and there is demand from Bombardier’s customers for such an aircraft. However, with that demand also comes a requirement that the fuel performance of the new aircraft be better than the current DHC-8Q-400.

ATR, the only other competing aircraft manufacturer, is considering a similar stretch, but also has not announced a time frame or other details on their program.

Jul 09 2012

Hebei Airlines places order for 5 Embraer 190s

Hebei Aiirlines LogoOn July 9th, at the Farnborough Air Show, Embraer announced that Hebei Airlines of China had placed an order for an additional five Embraer 190 E-Jets.

The aircraft are scheduled to be delivered before the end of 2013.

This agreement is the first order announced by Embraer at the 2012 Farnborough Air Show.

Hebei Airlines now has two Embraer 190s in service, serving eight destinations. To date, Embraer has more than 60 Embraer 190s in service in China