Bombardier jet orders may take off

Bombardier Inc. and other Canadian aerospace manufacturers are expected to announce new orders at next month’s air show of the year at Farnborough, U.K., an industry analyst said Monday.

Cameron Doerksen of Versant Partners said the air show should be more active than last year’s Paris Air Show, which shares the spotlight with the Farnborough show southwest of London on alternating years.

Hopes are high for the Montreal-based company’s CSeries, a new-generation passenger jet, a technologically advanced aircraft that Bombardier has been selling in advance of manufacturing. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2013.

"Bombardier has the potential to make the biggest news at Farnborough as a new order(s) for the CSeries is widely expected," Doerksen said in a report.

Several other manufacturers, including simulator and training company CAE Inc. and landing gear make Heroux-Devtek Inc., could also disclose orders, the analyst added.

Qatar Airways and Chinese airlines are rumoured to being closest to proceeding with a purchase from the world’s third-largest aircraft manufacturer.

Bombardier says it is speaking with about 60 airlines, including a handful that are close to placing orders.

Spokesman Marc Duchesne said the company hopes to be able to announce orders at Farnborough but said it is hard to "speculate" if they will be finalized within the next six weeks.

"Will there be anything at Farnborough? Hopefully yes but I cannot speculate," he said in an interview outside a mockup of its new all-composite Learjet 85, which like the CSeries is scheduled to enter into service in 2013.

Bombardier will also announce its aerospace market update at the air show.

The industry has faced a tough year as the economic recession has forced many buyers to cancel or defer orders. Bombardier said it expects its commercial and business aircraft deliveries will decrease this year even though the situation has bottomed and shows signs of improvement.

Used inventories are down, but remain high. Corporate aviation information provider Jetnet says the percentage of used business jets for sale decreased to 15.5 per cent in April from a high of 17.7 per cent in July 2009.

Despite the challenges facing business aircraft manufacturers, Bombardier has not lost one of the 60 firm orders for the Learjet 85, says Ralph Acs, vice-president of the program.

"We’re approximately where we thought we would be so we feel good about it," he said at one of the company’s facilities near Trudeau International Airport.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange, Bombardier shares increased four cents at $5.11 in early afternoon trading.

Source: Ross Marowits, thechronicleherald.ca – 22nd June 2010