It has been about five years since Bombardier sold a commercial aircraft into China, but the Canadian aircraft-maker is hoping its newest product, the Bombardier CSeries, will change all that.
Bombardier stresses that the 110/130-seat CSeries is not a regional aircraft per se and that the CSeries is competing for sales against regional jets as well as against Airbus A320-family aircraft and Boeing 737s.
The airframer's new commercial aircraft programme director Ben Boehm says the CSeries scores because of its lower fuel burn and its range. And, he adds, "70% of the materials are brand-new technology as opposed to Airbus and Boeing" narrowbodies.
The aircraft's size and range allows airlines to develop new routes, increase frequency and fly on longer, thinner routes, he says.
He also says the CS100 model is ideal for "hot and high" flying conditions, a plus point for China's mountainous regions.
Bombardier's 2009-28 forecast predicts China will take delivery of 2,100 aircraft in the 20- to 149-seat range during the period, accounting for 17% of the worldwide total.
China will get more 20- to 149-seat aircraft than the rest of Asia-Pacific combined, says the forecast, which ranks China third on aircraft deliveries behind North America and Europe.
Bombardier says China's strong economic growth, the opening of airspace to commercial flights and the liberalisation of air services between China and Taiwan will help to spur demand for aircraft.
Because there is so much pent-up demand for air services between China and Taiwan, airlines on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are tending to use widebodies on the sector.
But as more traffic rights become available, it is likely that carriers will start to use smaller aircraft, particularly on routes linking secondary cities.
Source: Flight Daily News
