Bombardier has again defended the state of its regional jet backlog given the lack of new orders for CRJ-series aircraft.
Its third-quarter results, for the period to 31 October, show the backlog for the CRJ700, CRJ900 and CRJ1000 has shrunk to 52 aircraft, from 61 in the previous quarter.
The Canadian airframer admitted that the market for the regional jets remains challenging and has had a "negative impact" on order intake.
It insists that new orders will materialise and is in "advanced negotiations" with a number of potential customers.
Pierre Beaudoin, president and chief executive officer of Bombardier, said the CRJ1000 is a stronger product that offers lower fuel burn than the rival Embraer 190. He points to the past success it had with sales of its CRJ700 and CRJ900s against the E-170 and E-175, delivering 592 aircraft to Embraer's 318.
"With better economics you tend to win more often. So I think the CRJ1000 will do extremely well," he said.
In addition, it is looking to Russia for sales of a number of second-hand CRJ100s and CRJ200s from the US market, given the grounding of older Russian types. Bombardier's Q400 turboprop backlog stands at 29.
Source: Flight International
