Republic Airways Holdings CEO Bryan Bedford is reiterating his concern over sluggish sales of Bombardier's CSeries narrowbody, but assures the company's order for 40 CS300s remains intact.
Asked about the status of Republic's CSeries order during a 1 March analysts call Bedford stated the order remains firm, and said Republic remains convinced the clean-sheet aircraft powered by the Pratt & Whitney 1500G geared turbofan is a game-changing aircraft.
Republic ordered the CSeries for operation by its Frontier subsidiary, which is now for sale. The company also ordered 80 Airbus A319/A320neos, driving speculation the CSeries order could be in jeopardy.
While Republic remains committed to the CSeries, Bedford said he is concerned about the lack of orderbook growth.
"Bombardier doesn't share that concern," he said. "They're quite comfortable" and are moving forward with the aircraft's progress, Bedford stated.
However, he made a second comment repeating his concern about the lack of CSeries on firm order, and that Republic's order remains firm. "That is all we can say," said Bedford.
As of 31 December Bombardier held 133 firm orders for the CSeries, with Republic's 40 aircraft order as the largest among the six listed operators.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
