Bombardier ditches C Series; may succour Sukhoi

Your tax dollars not at work.

Bombardier Inc. is scrapping plans for a $2.1-billion (U.S.) project to build a new 110-to-130-seat passenger jet and will instead focus on new opportunities in its traditional regional-jet and turboprop niches.

The Montreal-based company made the announcement this morning, a day after respected trade publication Flight International said Bombardier was preparing to abandon the C Series program for the new jet...

From the Globe's print edition today, according to which Bombardier was denying the C Series would augur in:

Bombardier...is in talks with Russia's key civil aerospace company about climbing aboard that country's regional jet program...[it] has... begun talks with Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co., the commercial jet division of Russian military jet maker OKB Sukhoi, according to the [Flight International] article.

And just so you don't forget:

The new jet series has been under development for some time with generous support from the Canadian, Quebec and British governments.

Now that the C Series has augered in, I wonder how much success Bombardier will have in lobbying the new government to choose less than optimal tactical transport and search and rescue aircraft for the Air Force, but aircraft with contracts that will benefit Bombardier. Remember they build turboprops in Toronto.

Posted by markc at January 31, 2006 11:55 AM | TrackBack