Bombardier remains on track to deliver 30-35 CSeries aircraft this year despite a “slow start”, says chief executive Alain Bellemare.
Bombardier has delivered only three CSeries family aircraft since 1 January after delivering seven last year.
To meet the company’s financial guidance of 30-35 deliveries for the full year, Bombardier must deliver at least 27 aircraft over the next 7.5 months, or an average monthly rate of 3.6.
Bellemare blames the delivery slowdown on slower deliveries from engine supplier Pratt & Whitney. But P&W is on track to recover with engine deliveries in the second half, he says.
As engines flow into the assembly line, the pace of deliveries will sharply increase, Bellemare says. Bombardier will deliver about 10 aircraft overall in the first half, he says, which suggests about seven more deliveries over the next seven weeks.
Another 20 aircraft will be delivered in the last six months of the year, he adds.
The total of about 30 deliveries forecasted by Bellemare falls within the low-end of the range in the company’s guidance to investors.
Bombardier can manage the accelerated ramp-up without impacting profitability as assembly workers learn how to build the aircraft more efficiently, he adds.
Bellemare also hailed the in-service CSeries fleet for “delighting” launch customers, noting that Korean Air will take delivery of their first aircraft later this year.
“The performance and reliability of the 10 CSeries in service today is outstanding,” Bellemare says. The aircraft is “meeting or exceeding all expectations with almost 10,000 revenue flights completed as of today.”
Source: Cirium Dashboard
