Fragile demand for business jets, coupled with the "sluggish" global economy, resulted in falling orders and lower than expected deliveries for Bombardier in 2013.
The Canadian airframer shipped 180 business aircraft between 1 January and 31 December – 29 Learjets, 89 Challengers and 62 Globals – while order intake fell to 305, from 343 in 2012.
Montreal-based Bombardier says while it delivered one more aircraft in 2013 than in the previous year, this fell short of the 190 it forecast for the period, due to the delayed certification of the upgraded Learjet 70 and 75. The light and superlight business jets finally entered service in December, replacing the 40XR/45XR.
Bombardier also sold a single 415 amphibious aircraft.
Bombardier Aerospace president Guy Hachey blames a “persistently sluggish” global economy for the drop in orders. “With the recovery taking longer than originally anticipated, 2013 continued to be a challenging year for aviation,” he says.
The airframer hopes 2014 could show a change in its fortunes, however, with deliveries of the in-development Learjet 85 and Challenger 350 set to begin in the coming months.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
