Odds and Ends: CSeries; Mitsubishi MRJ; Air France; Saving airlines

CSeries: Bombardier provided a short update from program head Rob Dewar in advance of its 2014 earnings call Thursday. The flutter test has been completed, CS300 is moving toward joining the flight test fleet and the fleet has completed 900 hours of the 2,400 required toward certification.

  • BBD today revealed the identify of the customer for 24 CRJ-900s, announced Dec. 30: it’s American Airlines.
  • Luxair plans to order some Q400s to replace its Embraer E145 jets.

MRJ90: The Mitsubishi MRJ is Japan’s first commercial airliner since the YS-11 turboprop in the last century. It’s a bold project intended to break into a highly competitive market sector. Air&Space magazine of the Smithsonian Institute profiles the MRJ.

Air France: Aviation Week has a dark opinion of the future of Air France. It’s worth a read.

Saving airlines: While Aviation Week has a dim view on the future of Air France, The Wall Street Journal has a piece about how private equity saved airlines. (Subscription may be required).

 

15 Comments on “Odds and Ends: CSeries; Mitsubishi MRJ; Air France; Saving airlines

  1. Not a word about when FTV5 will take to the air. I find that a bit strange and less than reassuring. But everything else looks good. Except maybe the new orders which are not exactly abounding. But that is easy to explain: there is no one to sell the airplane. Bombardier Commercial Aircraft was 1 1/2 year without a Sales VP. Then Chet Fuller was hired. He left after 2 1/2 years. He was replaced by Ray Jones who stayed a little more than a year. My impression is that Bombardier was unprepared for Jones’ departure, so it may take a long time to find a replacement, as it did in the past.

    • Maybe Rob Dewar simply forgot to mention that FTV5 was about to fly. I imagine Bombardier would want it to be in the air before Thursday’s conference call. 😉

      • You seem well informed, interested and very supportive of the program and the company. Are you a dedicated employee or a local supporter?

  2. Although the above comments may be binding to the Cseries program it seems that it’s most likely they ( BBD) would be better off selling the entire program to the highest bidder BBB which would probably be Chinese.

    • … or maybe BBD could sell their transportation division to the Chinese, who are true competitors in this business. This would give BBD the funds required to easily complete the CSeries program, and also launch new aircraft programs: CRJ replacement… B-757 replacement…

      … Kidding… But why do so many people want Bombardier to sell the CSeries program? They are in a tight situation, but not in financial difficulties.

      It should also be considered that the Canadian government would support Bombardier if it became necessary. The Brazilian government would do the same for Embraer. These companies are crown jewels for smaller economies.

    • I always wondered if it was a good idea to build the CS100. Maybe Bombardier should have started with the Cs300 right away. But I might be wrong, for the CS100 can go where the Cs300 will be restricted. That being said I still think that future sales will show the Cs300 to be more successful, potentially with a sales ratio of 2/3 for the CS300 versus 1/3 for the CS100. Of course this ratio would change completely with the introduction of the CS500. But I am not holding my breath any more.

      • The CS100 is for the future in the RJ sector: post-clause-scope-era..The aircraft will be fully reliable and optimal after 2020 and beyond

        • The question is when will we be in the post-scope clause era? The sooner the better for both the CRJ1000 and the CS100. And the ERJ I might add. But I am afraid it will happen later than sooner. A more flexible scope clause would benefit the CRJ greatly, especially in the American market.

          On this issue I don’t see any openings from the unions. My impression is that if the airlines really cared a solution would be found quickly. The airlines lived with the situation for more than twenty years and they can deal with it for another twenty years if necessary

          If the CRJ is to survive Bombardier will have to find new customers around the world and stop relying on the USA. For the same reasons we may never see the CS100 in operation with a US airline.

  3. Sell don’t sell, stretch don’t stretch, I don’t care, just do something. I’ve been holding their shares in my portfolio for about a decade. Big mistake. They’ve been sucking for fifteen years. I put faith and hope in the wrong company. At this rate I’ll be asking for charity soon.

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