Bombardier is to follow FIDAE with a Latin American tour showcasing the CSeries in a bid to convince wavering potential customers to commit to the all-new narrowbody.
The Canadian company has not yet secured any orders in the region, but Alex Glock, vice-president sales for Latin America, says there is a lot of demand from airlines to see the recently-certificated aircraft close up.
“The [CS100] will make its way down the continent later this year. If I respond to every request, I will have to stop in every country from Mexico to Argentina,” he says.
Glock maintains that the 110-seat CS100 and 130-set CS300 are ideal for a “cyclical market” such as Latin America, allowing airlines to launch longer-range routes without the risk of committing to a higher-capacity larger narrowbody.
“Its hot and high capabilities and its economics make it a perfect aircraft for this market,” he says.
Bombardier’s stuttering CSeries sales were given a boost in February with a commitment by Air Canada to buy up to 75 CS300s. However, the carrier has only signed a letter of intent with a final deal potentially taking two years to conclude. The CSeries firm order backlog has remained at 243 for a year and a half. The CS100 goes into service with launch customer Swiss in the next few weeks.
Bombardier is also keen to win back market share against rival ATR, which has been outselling it in the turboprop segment. The only Q400 customer in the region is LC Peru, which operates two of the 75- to 90-seat turboprop. “It’s an education process with the Q400,” says Glock.
Despite the downturn in Brazil, Glock says other markets are still growing fast, including Mexico, Peru, Colombia and parts of the Caribbean.
Source: Flight Daily News
