Bombardier has received strong interest from manufacturers likely to make engine bids for the 110 to 130-seat CSeries airliner.
Bombardier remains non-committal about the exact timing of the programme’s launch other than to say it will be in 2008.
Speaking at a first quarter earnings conference call yesterday, Pierre Beaudoin, Bombardier Aerospace president and chief operating officer, said discussions with engine manufacturers have improved following Bombardier’s redesign of the aircraft last year.
The company called off plans to launch the earlier version of the airliner in January 2006 after failing to build a strong business case or sign an agreement with the preferred engine manufacturer, Pratt & Whitney Canada, for a powerplant.
The newest version of the single-aisle aircraft gained a 4% increase in fuel efficiency with a shorter fuselage, reduced weight with more composites and shorter wingspan.
Bombardier also wants its engine provider to deliver a powerplant that will bring the total increase in efficiency for the new twinjet to 15%
“We seem to be more aligned this time with the technologies available from engine manufacturers,” says Beaudoin. “Eagerness for them to supply us an all-new engine is very strong.”
Chief contenders for the new engine include Pratt & Whitney with its geared turbofan (GTF) technology and CFM International and its joint owner General Electric, which is proposing follow-on engines to the highly successful CFM56 programme.
“Numbers that Pratt & Whitney has shown us are very impressive,” said Beaudoin.
“We have also seen presentations from others that are very impressive,” he added. “In the end, the technologies will allow us to provide 15% better performance.”
In the meantime, backlog for the company’s existing products is at an all-time high of $45.4 billion.
Regional aircraft orders for the quarter were up more than a factor of four from the same period last year, to 91 from 19. Overall orders add up to a backlog of “24 months plus a little more,” said Beaudoin.
Build rate for at least the next two years will be 50 regional aircraft per year, he adds.
Bombardier reduced its CRJ700/CRJ900 build rate from 65 aircraft last year to 50 this year.
The company appears to be hesitant to increase the production rate despite “strong” demand for regional jets, particularly for the CRJ900. “We’re having that debate now,” said Beaudoin. “We want to be prudent since we just came down in rate.”
Source: FlightGlobal.com
