Bombardier is aggressively "going after" three-to-four customers interested in its CRJ-700/900/1000 aircraft, and hopes to clinch some of those deals in the next couple of months.
Bombardier Aerospace president Guy Hachey outlined the campaigns today during an earnings call with analyst and investors, explaining the airframer has a "relatively open skyline" with respect to the CRJ family during the second half of next year.
As of 31 October Bombardier had firm orders for 103 CRJ/700/900/1000 aircraft, with the 1000 variant comprising the bulk at 49 aircraft. Deliveries of the largest CRJ aircraft are scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2011.
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The airframer recorded six CRJ900 orders during the third quarter split between Estonian and Libyan. Hachey admits the orders are small, but helpful.
Bombardier plans to review the CRJ skyline early in 2011 and make a decision regarding aircraft output for the second half of the year, says Hachey.
Hachey believes Bombardier has a "nice level of opportunity" for the 70-seat Q400 turboprop even though the "skyline for next year at the tail end is open to a certain degree".
Bombardier is confident that it will capture sufficient Q400 volume to "maintain where we are".
In September of this year Bombardier said the Q400 backlog equalled roughly 16 months of production. As of 31 October Bombardier had 67 firm Q400s orders and 102 options and conditional orders.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
