Bombardier loses out in Canadian Forces competition
A consortium led by British Columbia-based Kelowna Flight-craft is poised to scoop a 22-year, C$1.7 billion ($1.41 billion) deal to provide primary flying training for the Canadian Forces, beating Bombardier, which has held the contract for the past 12 years.
Kelowna expects an announcement on 30 March that its Allied Wings consortium is the winning bidder for the Contracted Flight Training and Support (CFTS) contract, says general manager Jim Rogers. Bombardier has told staff at its Portage La Prairie, Manitoba training centre that the defence department has chosen Kelowna, says Zev Rosenzweig, vice-president of military aviation training.
Bombardier, with partners including CAE, Field Aviation and Serco, has provided primary, multi-engine and helicopter flight training at its Canadian Aviation Training Centre since July 1992, using Slingsby T67s, Beech King Airs and Bell 206s. The company's contract expires in August.
Allied Wings plans to spend C$200 million to upgrade the Southport Aerospace Centre in Portage La Prairie. The investment will include new aircraft, simulators and upgraded ground facilities. Kelowna's bid includes the Grob 120 for primary flight training, King Air C90B for multi-engine training and Bell 206 and 412 for helicopter training.
The CFTS contract covers ground and flight training for Phase I primary flying training, plus ground instruction for Phase III helicopter and multi-engine fixed-wing training. Kelowna will provide the fixed-wing aircraft; Atlantis Systems International the ground school, simulators and training materials; Canadian Base Operators the buildings and facilities; and CHC the helicopters.
Coming on top of its recent loss of a C$93 million contract to provide airborne combat training support to the Canadian Forces, the CFTS loss calls into question the viability of Bombardier's military training unit (Flight International, 15-21 March). The business was for sale until Bombardier's controversial win of the Canadian Forces' Boeing CF-18 distributed training system contract last year. The unit's only other business is the NATO Flying Training in Canada programme.
BRIAN DUNN/MONTREAL
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ANDRZEJ JEZIORSKI IN VANCOUVER
Source: Flight International
