The Champion

Over the last 25 years, Bombardier Aerospace has grown 20 times and has launched 28 successful new aircraft programmes with its success largely hinging on the CRJ family. Being a nimble-footed innovator that has seen tough times before, it remains confident about its prospects.

Over a quarter of a century ago, it is unlikely that the name Bombardier would have created even a ripple in aerospace circles. Bombardier Inc., with its headquarters in Dorval, Quebec, Canada, was better known as a leading manufacturer of rail transportation equipment, systems and services. Amazingly, the company’s journey to become the world’s third-largest aircraft manufacturer after Airbus and Boeing began with its December 1986 acquisition of Canadair Ltd from the Government of Canada. Canadair had recorded the heaviest loss in history of any Canadian corporation. It was not an enterprise anyone might want to own. But Bombardier embraced the unsuccessful Canadair Challenger business jet design and transformed it into a winner, the 50-seat CRJ100/200 regional jet.

Over the next six years, Bombardier made some more welljudged acquisitions that gave it access to advanced aviation technology and expertise in aircraft design and manufacture, besides allowing it to greatly expand its international footprint. And the parent company contributed manufacturing know-how acquired from other sectors, as well as its entrepreneurship culture, mainly innovation and speedy decentralised decision-making. Bombardier launched the CRJ700/900/1000 jets and in time, the CRJ family became the best-selling regional aircraft programme ever. Bombardier’s aerospace arm now accounts for about half the company’s revenue. Apart from production sites for commercial and business aircraft in Canada, the US, Northern Ireland and Mexico; Bombardier Aerospace has a robust global network of maintenance service centres, distribution centres, depots for spare parts as also sales and marketing offices.

Next Generation

For airlines, the cutting cost is a pressing need in the desperate battle for survival and Bombardier’s CRJ series helps them to do just that. Worldwide, CRJ aircraft are in service with over 60 airlines and have notched up 1,708 orders as of July 31, 2011. The current offerings include the 70- to 78-seat CRJ700 NextGen, the 88- to 90-seat CRJ900 NextGen and the 100- to 104-seat CRJ1000 NextGen. A combination of light weight, larger winglets and other features give the NextGen regional jet variants excellent performance translating to reduced operating costs. The CRJ1000 NextGen, the latest from Bombardier, is a stretched version of the CRJ900, offering better performance and a higher profit per seat than the competing Embraer E-190. Powered by two GE CF34-8C5A1 turbofans, it cruises at 447 knots and has a top speed of 470 knots. What do the airlines think of it? While Air Nostrum of Spain lauds the economics and performance of its CRJ1000 NextGen, BritAir of France, which ordered 14, says it burns 20 per cent less fuel than the Fokker 100 planes it is replacing.

The de Havilland Aircraft of Canada joined the Bombardier family in the year 1992, and it soon made the company a leader in turboprop aircraft design and manufacture. Bombardier also became the only company to offer both jet and turboprop aircraft in the up to 50-passenger category. Turboprops which were just 15 per cent of the global regional aircraft fleet in 2001 now constitute about 40 per cent. The Bombardier Aerospace Dash-8 family of turboprop regional aircraft includes the 37-passenger Q100 and Q200, the 50- to 60-passenger Q300 and the 70- to 80-passenger Q400. The Q-Series have obtained 1,079 orders as of July 31, 2011. Optimised for short-haul operations on high-density routes, the Q400 NextGen is now the only variant in production. It is a large, fast, quiet, and fuel-efficient aircraft powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW150A turboprop engines, each developing 5,071 shp. The engines have full authority digital engine control and drive the Dowty six-blade reversible-pitch composite propellers. Bombardier believes that there is a lot of life and a lot of opportunity left in the Q400, and so a stretched version is on the cards.

CSeries: A Leap of Faith

For almost two decades, Bombardier Aerospace was content to concentrate on CRJ and Q-Series improvements. However, both were nearing the end of their potential and the company realised that it was time for something completely new. It came up with the CSeries, its biggest and most complex aircraft till date. Designed and manufactured from a clean sheet of paper, a true 21st century jet airliner, the CSeries features advanced technology including composite wings, high-tech metal alloy fuselage with aluminium-lithium skin and fly-by-wire controls. The aircraft will have a range of 2,950 nautical miles. New fuel-efficient turbofan engines should give it the operating advantage that Bombardier hopes will differentiate the CSeries from its growing band of rivals. The variants are the 110- to 125-seat CS100 and the 130- to 145-seat CS300, both seating travellers in a 2-3 arrangement in economy and a 2-2 arrangement in business/first class, similar to the Boeing 717.

The Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1500G Geared TurboFan (GTF) engine that will power the CSeries completed flight tests recently, logging 115 hours in 25 flights. The engine, which provides up to 23,300 lb (103.6 kN) of thrust, will have a 15 to 20 per cent improvement in fuel burn over equivalent engines. Its 12:1 bypass ratio is the highest in the industry. Overall, Bombardier claims that the CSeries will be 15 per cent cheaper to operate and will emit 20 per cent less carbon dioxide and 50 per cent less nitrogen oxide than any equivalent aircraft being manufactured now. Long experience with regional aircraft and especially the vulnerability of highutilisation fleets with impact by ground vehicles, made Bombardier design its systems and structure for ease of access and repair. It is targeting 99 per cent reliability for entry into airline service.