Bombardier has asked the US International Trade Commission (ITC) – the body that in two days will rule on the Boeing-Bombardier trade dispute – to accept new information about the range of the Embraer 190-E2.
The ITC's record is currently closed.
According to Bombardier, however, an increase in range, reported by FlightGlobal on 19 January, makes clear that the E190-E2 fits within the aircraft segment being investigated by the ITC.
"Embraer's announcement, which came only as the factual record closed at the ITC, eviscerates the premise of Boeing’s case," says Bombardier in a statement to FlightGlobal. "Boeing’s previous attempts to exclude Embraer from the ITC’s analysis has resulted in a fundamentally-flawed assessment of the market that we believe needs to be addressed."
In the FlightGlobal article, Embraer vice-president of marketing Rodrigo Silva e Souza said efficiency improvements had increased the E190-E2's range in Embraer's marketing brochure to 2,900nm (5,371km).
The range had been marketed at 2,850nm. Embraer now disputes the 2,900nm figure, saying the improved range is actually 2,880nm.
But Bombardier says the 2,900nm figure demonstrates that the E190-E2 actually falls within the parameters of the aircraft segment being investigated by the ITC.
That segment – defined initially by Boeing in its trade petition – includes aircraft with 100 to 150 seats, and, notably, range of at least 2,900nm.
Until now, only 737-700s, 737 Max 7s, CS100s, CS300s, Airbus A319s and A319neos fit the bill. And no US customers have either Airbus model on order.
"Now that Embraer has announced that its E190-E2 falls squarely within the market Boeing defined – a market that Boeing claimed was occupied only by the 737 and the CSeries competing head-to-head – we have petitioned the ITC to reopen the record,' says Bombardier.
The company filed the petition 23 January.
"Throughout this case, Boeing’s claims have been disingenuous, starting with its demand that the US government ignore Embraer‘s role in the market, while it secretly sought to buy Embraer," Bombardier adds.
Bombardier's attorneys have previously called the 2,900nm requirement an "arbitrary" figure that stands to benefit Boeing and Embraer should import tariffs make CSeries prohibitively expensive to US buyers.
News broke in December 2017 that Boeing was negotiating to acquire a large stake in Embraer.
Boeing declined to comment to FlightGlobal about Bombardier's latest request.
Embraer likewise declined to comment about Bombardier's filing, choosing only to specify that the E190-E2s range is 2,880nm.
The ITC closed its record to new information on 19 January, and the panel's four commissions are scheduled to vote on 25 January on whether Bombardier's 2016 sale of CS100s to Delta Air Lines.
Boeing filed a petition in April 2017 claiming that a heavily-subsidised Bombardier sold the aircraft at a loss, violating US trade laws and harming sales of competing 737-700s and 737 Max 7s.
Bombardier has denied the allegations, saying Boeing does not make an aircraft that competes with CSeries.
Delta has said the only aircraft that Boeing could offer to compete against CS100s were used E190s.
Clarification on 23 January: Although the ITC's "factual record" closed to new information on 19 January, parties had until 23 January to submit final comments.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
