History
After acquiring Canadair in 1986 and restoring it to profitability, Bombardier acquired in 1989 the near-bankrupt Short Brothers aircraft manufacturing company in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This was followed in 1990 by the acquisition of the bankrupt Learjet Company of Wichita, Kansas, builder of the Learjet business aircraft, and finally the money-losing Boeing subsidiary de Havilland Aircraft of Canada based in Toronto, Ontario in 1992.
The aerospace arm now accounts for over half of the company's revenue. Bombardier's most popular aircraft currently include its Dash 8 Series 400, CRJ100/200/440, and CRJ700/900/1000 lines of regional airliners. It also manufactures the Bombardier 415 amphibious water-bomber (in Dorval and North Bay), the Global Express and the Challenger business jet. Learjet is also a subsidiary of Bombardier based in Wichita, KS.
Bombardier had been in discussions with Mirabel, Quebec (near Montreal) and Kansas City, Missouri for a $375 million assembly plant, for its future Cseries aircraft, which Bombardier is marketing as a replacement for aging DC-9, MD-80, and early, smaller versions of the Boeing 737. This new jet competes with the Boeing 737-600, Boeing 737-700, Airbus A318, Airbus A319, and Embraer 195. Bombardier claims the Cseries, which the company will offer in 110-seat and 130-seat versions, will burn at least 20% less fuel per trip than its "nearest" Embraer competitor and achieve "high 20s (percentage) savings" vs. the Boeing 737-600 or -700.
The launch customer for the C-series, Lufthansa, has signed a Letter of Intent for up to 60 aircraft and 30 options. The manufacturing complex in Montreal will be redeveloped by Ghafari Associates to incorporate lean manufacturing of its CSeries aircraft.
In March, 2011, The company obtained 50 firm orders and a further 70 optional order for jets from NetJets worth more than US$2.8 billion to US$6.7 billion, respectively.
Also in March 2011, Bombardier announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China's ICBC Financial Leasing to provide advance aircraft payment financing for Bombardier customers worth $8 billion.
In October 2012, a joint development deal between Bombardier Aerospace and a government-lead South Korean consortium was revealed, to develop a 90-seater turboprop regional airliner, targeting a 2019 launch date. The consortium would include Korea Aerospace Industries and Korean Air Lines.
Read more about this topic: Bombardier Aerospace
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