Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
Leeham News and Analysis
- Boeing’s 2025 annual safety report due this month May 20, 2025
- FAA’s data of accident, incidents, often not shared May 19, 2025
- Bjorn’s Corner: Air Transport’s route to 2050. Part 22. May 16, 2025
- Services are driving revenues and profits in difficult times, Part I May 15, 2025
- The BWB has a long way to go before flying passengers, freight May 12, 2025
Bombardier CS300 analysis vs A319neo, 737-7
By Bjorn Fehrm
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Introduction
March 29, 2015, c. Leeham Co: Bombardier’s big bet in the aeronautics sector, CSeries, is well into flight testing, now more than half way toward the 2,400 hours required by Transport Canada before certification can be granted. The first aircraft to be certified will be the smaller 110 seat CS100 but the market is most interested in the larger 135 seat CS300, which has 63% of present orders and commitments, Figure 1.
Figure 1. Cseries largest model, CS300. Source: Bombardier.
Bombardier’s new CEO, Alan Bellemare, told reporters last week that the CS100 would be certified during 2015 with entry into service slipping into 2016. The CS300, which is a direct challenger to Airbus’ A319neo and Boeing’s 737-7, should follow six months after CS100. With the CS300 in flight testing and going into service next summer, we decided to have a deeper look at CS300 and its competitors.
Summary
- A319 and 737-7 are shrinks of the market’s preferred models, A320 and 737-8, and as such not the most efficient models.
- The CS300 is the series center-point and it shows. The modern design beats the Airbus and Boeing designs on most counts.
- Part of the modern concepts in CSeries is the well-conceived Pratt & Whitney PW1000G geared turbofan.
- PW’s 73 in fan version of the PW1000G for CSeries is slightly less efficient that the 81 in version for A319neo but CS300 lower weight makes sure this is more than compensated for.
Leahy gets lifetime achievement award; CSeries could be delayed again
March 23, 2015: John Leahy, Aviation Week Lifetime Achievement Award: John Leahy, the chief operating officer-commercial for Airbus, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Aviation Week. It’s a well-deserved award.
John Leahy. Airbus photo.
As the AvWeek write up details, Leahy has been instrumental in bringing Airbus to the market position it is today. We’ve known Leahy nearly the entire time he’s been at Airbus. He’s one of those love-him or hate-him kind of guys (or, in my case, like-him). Whether loved or hated, his industry accomplishments deserve respect and admiration. Joe Sutter, who is still around in his 90s as a consultant to Boeing, would be Boeing’s counter-part for the impact of his influence on the industry. We certainly can’t think of a Boeing salesman or any other contemporary in the front office who would match Leahy’s tenure and influence. In his day, Bill Allen, the long-time CEO, certainly would qualify.
Bombardier sees solid future for CRJ
March 20, 2015: C. Leeham Co. Bombardier’s current challenges don’t end with the CSeries. The company has seen its once-dominate positions in the regional jet and turbo prop markets decline precipitously.
Ross Mitchell, VP of Business Acquisition and Commercial Airplanes, Bombardier. Photo: Fleigerfaust.
The CRJ struggles in its sales against the Embraer E-Jet. The Q400’s market share of the turbo prop sector has declined to a mere 10% of the backlog vs ATR.
Still, Ross Mitchell, vice president of Business Acquisition and Commercial Aircraft for Bombardier, gave a spirited defense and upbeat outlook of both products during last week’s ISTAT conference in Phoenix. In a one-on-one interview the next day, we posed a series of questions about the CRJ and the Q400. We reported on the Q400 yesterday. Today’s report is about the CRJ.
CRJ’s future
Mitchell said the CRJ has a lower unit cost than the rival Embraer E-175 and E190, the direct competitors to the CRJ-700/900 used most in the USA, where labor Scope Clauses limit the size and number of airplanes that may be operated by the regional airlines on behalf of the legacy carriers.
Bjorn’s Corner: Intro, LCC long range and CFM’s LEAP
By Bjorn Fehrm
March 19, 2015: This is the first version of my Corner where I will comment on the aeronautical world as I see it. It will be a mix of tech things (I am an engineer) and my view on things from my European vantage point. Enough on reason and style; lets get started.
LCC goes long range: After AirAsiaX and Norwegian, now Ryanair is going long range, according to Irish Times (or not; the latest news from Robert Wall of The Wall Street Journal is that the board has not approved a long range business plan).
Be that as it may with Ryanair, the key thing is that what happened to the majors on short haul is about to hit them on long haul as well. Short haul LCCs brought about a change in airline economics and in single aisle aircraft. The LCCs, followed by Ultra LCCs, started the trend to denser and denser configurations where the latest trends are sub 29 inch pitch slim-seats and lavatories that started at 37 inch getting slimmed to 31 inch. It has also brought about changes in galleys and emergency exits configurations, all leading to aircraft with higher and higher capacities.
Bombardier changing the message on the Q400 to emphasize flexbility
Ross Mitchell, VP Business Acquisition, Commercial Aircraft, Bombardier. Source: Fleigerfaust.
March 19, 2015: C. Leeham Co. Bombardier’s current challenges don’t end with the CSeries. The company has seen its once-dominate positions in the regional jet and turbo prop markets decline precipitously.
The CRJ struggles in its sales against the Embraer E-Jet. The Q400’s market share of the turbo prop sector has declined to a mere 10% of the backlog vs ATR.
Still, Ross Mitchell, vice president of Business Acquisition and Commercial Aircraft for Bombardier, gave a spirited defense and upbeat outlook of both products during last week’s ISTAT conference in Phoenix. In a one-on-one interview the next day, we posed a series of questions about the CRJ and the Q400. Today’s report is about the Q400. Tomorrow’s will be about the CRJ.
Rebuilding confidence at Bombardier
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- This week the Malay government announced an order for 20 CSeries CS100s. for a new airline.
Introduction
March 17, 2015: c. Leeham Co. Turmoil at Bombardier, both financial and with the departure of several key personnel, caused a crisis in confidence among customers and shareholders. The stock price took a tumble and some Canadian aerospace analysts, and the few on Wall Street who also follow the stock, have become increasingly pessimistic. Leeham News and Comment published a long analysis after Ray Jones departed Bombardier Commercial Aircraft in a surprise move, the latest in a series of top-level departures at the unit. Market reaction was decidedly negative.
CEO Pierre Beaudoin stepped up February 12 to executive chairman, relinquishing the chief executive title of Bombardier to Alain Bellemare, a veteran of Pratt & Whitney whose appointment was generally well received.
Still, customers we talked with continue to be cautious. One has a wait-and-see about what Bellemare will be able to achieve, and how soon. This customer believes Bellemare has until the Paris Air Show in June to show some tangible progress.
Another customer was considerably more upbeat, viewing the appointment as a major change in the company for the better.
Canadian analysts were positive about the management changes, in part because the market has lost confidence in the Beaudoin management and in part because Bellemare and his PW experience are viewed as heavy-weight.
Ross Mitchell, vice president of Business Acquisitions and Commercial Aircraft, Bombardier. Source: Fleigerfaust.
We sat down with Ross Mitchell, vice president of Business Acquisitions and Commercial Aircraft for Bombardier, at the ISTAT conference last week in Phoenix for a wide-ranging interview. Here is Part 1.
Summary
- Bombardier needs to restore confidence in the market after all the turmoil. How will this be accomplished?
- Will Alain Bellemare have the flexibility and freedom to do what needs to be done?
- Organizational restructuring has already made some progress.
- The financings are a positive.
Pontifications: From the sidelines of the ISTAT conference, Notes #2
March 13, 2015: More Notes from the sidelines at the ISTAT conference this week in Phoenix.
By Scott Hamilton
Boeing 777 production rates and advancing schedule
Randy Tinseth, Boeing VP-Marketing, predictably stuck to Boeing messaging Monday at the ISTAT conference when I asked him about the change in tone I described in my post Monday morning about the 777 Classic production rate to the entry-into-service of the 777X.
Waving a copy of my post in the Q&A session of Tinseth’s market update and saying I had transcripts of every Boeing earnings call and investors presentation in which the “bridge” question was posed since the 777X program was launched, I cited Boeing CFO Greg Smith’s response to orders in the March 5 JP Morgan investors’ day and asked Tinseth about it.