Bigger Canadian jets on the way . . .
Bombardier Inc. board approves development of new CSeries passenger jets
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MONTREAL (CP) - The board of transport giant Bombardier Inc. has approved development of a new family of 110-to 135-seat passenger jets, the company said Tuesday.
Bombardier's aerospace division was given authority to market the CSeries jets, the company said, an important step in the process leading to the aircraft program's launch, sending the parent company's stock up more than two per cent on the Toronto stock market.
Bombardier stock gained six cents to $2.81 Tuesday afternoon, with 3.3 million shares changing hands.
But the company said it will seek firm commitments from potential customers, suppliers and government partners before launching the estimated $2.1-billion program, costs of which will be shared with governments and suppliers.
"In the CSeries status report presented to board members, Bombardier Aerospace demonstrated the significant progress made in the evaluation of the aircraft configuration and performance, the strong market interest for the CSeries family, as well as the overall business plan," Bombardier Aerospace president Pierre Beaudoin said in a release.
"We will now offer sales proposals to potential customers and finalize sales and partnership commitments before returning to the board to request program launch and recommend the final assembly site location."
The announcement from Bombardier ended speculation over whether the aircraft maker would proceed with its plans to develop the new jets. The move will place it in direct competition with major aircraft producers Airbus SAS and Boeing Co.
The aviation industry evaluates the size of the market for jets in the same size range as the CSeries to be 5,800 units over 20 years.
Last week, Bombardier announced it had settled a cost-cutting labour contract with its Montreal aerospace workers and said will add a long-range version of its CRJ700 regional jet, an aircraft that seats 70 to 78 passengers.
The CRJ700 LR aircraft will have a range of 4,048 kilometres, an increase of about 444 km over the CRJ700 ER (extended range) model. It will be available in the first quarter of 2006.
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