Bombardier is warming to the Fairchild Dornier 728/928 to complement its own smaller CRJ700/900 product line, but will take no decision on acquiring the programme until it completes an engineering evaluation.
Bombardier chief executive Robert Brown acknowledges that the 70-seat CRJ700 and 86-seat stretched CRJ900 occupy a distinct regional airline segment. Fairchild Dornier in contrast had been focusing the larger five-abreast 70/85-seat 728 and 95/110-seat 928 on mainline carriers. "It's two different markets," Brown says.
No decision will be made on the programme until at least mid-June, when a Bombardier team reports on the programme's viability. The company confirms it is only interested in the 728/928.
Meanwhile, enthusiasm for the aircraft at Lufthansa, the last major customer for the 728, appears to be cooling. Lufthansa's incoming chief executive, Wolfgang Mayrhuber, says: "We would regret it very much if the aircraft does not fly, but we have a variety of regional partners and regional aircraft and so we are not exceedingly worried."
Source: Flight International
