The Royal Jordanian Air Force and a fast-growing Turkish executive charter business have switched from long-established agreements with other manufacturers and ordered Challenger 604 business jets.
The deals, announced at the show yesterday, were part of more than $200 million worth of sales revealed by Bombardier.
"In the first nine months of this year we have exceeded our sales figures for the whole of last year," says John Lawson, Bombardier president, sales.
The bulk of yesterday's orders centred around 12 aircraft for the Execujet Aviation Group. These include five Learjet 45s, two Learjet 60s, four Continentals and one Canadair SE (the special edition corporate configuration of the successful RJ airframe).
Operators in Africa, the Middle East and Europe will use the aircraft.
Turkish executive charter firm Guvan Air purchased its first Challenger 604 at the show, having spent two years analysing the options.
Options
The firm flies Beechcraft 400A Beechjet, Raytheon Hawker 800XP and Cessna Citation X aircraft. It is the Turkish representitive for Airmethods, the US-based air ambulance and med-evac service.
"We took a long time looking at the options," says Guven's managing director Ali Paya. "The Challenger offered the best wide-body choice for our VIP market."
Guven covers Turkey for Netjets and works for corporations such as Shell International. "Our customers have high standards and we need to match those with the quality of the aircraft we offer," Paya says.
The Jordanian contract is for two Challenger 604 aircraft for the Royal Jordanian Air Force for its VIP transport area. The RJAF has previously been using two Gulfstream IV aircraft.
The deal was concluded by TAG, Bombardier's Middle East representatives, which says that the Jordanians are focusing on cost control and had made significant savings through the deal.
Source: Flight Daily News
