Bombardier bombing

And I just cannot see the proposed, larger C Series being a success even if they do build it--Embraer is just too far ahead of Bombardier, along with the 737-700 and the A-318.

Bombardier's aerospace division is cutting 1,330 jobs in Montreal and Belfast, Northern Ireland as it slows production of its regional jets in response to sagging demand.

"The restructuring of the airline industry continues, with relatively few orders for regional jets in the 70- to 90-seat jet category being awarded in recent years,'' Pierre Beaudoin, president and chief operating officer of Bombardier Aerospace, said Tuesday in a statement...

Beaudoin said the situation should "improve," however, as a result of numerous sales campaigns Bombardier is pursuing.

He said the slower regional jet output will be offset, in part, by a boost in production of its Q400 turboprop plane.

The company expects to deliver about 50 of the turboprops in the current fiscal year, and about 65 in the following year...

The company's Montreal-area sites will see 485 jobs cut starting in late November, while 645 jobs will be cut at its Belfast site beginning in January. Along with those cuts, 200 management and other positions will be eliminated.

A bigger jet?

The cuts don't come as a surprise, said Sims, "because we really have not seen the regional jet market come back up."

But interestingly, added Sims, Bombardier is also "trying once again to figure out whether or not they should be building a new plane -- and that is a slightly larger regional jet that will seat up to 130 people."..

Along with the Q400 airliners, Bombardier said it also plans to produce more of its Q-series turboprop family, including the Q200 and Q300, starting in October.

The increase will mean about 50 Q-series deliveries in the current fiscal year and about 65 in the next...

I fervently hope that the current mess doesn't give Bombardier the political leverage to convince the government to buy an unsuitable military version (which does not yet exist) of the Q Series for the Air Force's new fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft.

Mark C.

Posted by markc at October 24, 2006 05:02 PM