Bombardier Redefines Its Focus Toward Long-Range Business Jets

摘要

By the end of 2020, Bombardier will have undone almost all the steps it took to become the third-largest civil aircraft manufacturer. And it will be responsible for setting in motion the process that stripped its long-time rival Embraer of the same status. By then both companies will be focused on business aviation, balanced in Bombardier's case by rail transportation and in Embraer's by defense. The heyday of their rivalry in the regional aircraft market will be a thing of the past, the pieces sold off or their control transferred to Airbus and Boeing. It has been a slow dismantlement for Bombardier's aerospace business, which grew spectacularly through the 1990s. And the reason is the C Series, an aircraft program that proved too big for the Canadian manufacturer, not technically but financially, pushing the company to the limits of liquidity.By the end of 2020, Bombardier will have undone almost all the steps it took to become the third-largest civil aircraft manufacturer. And it will be responsible for setting in motion the process that stripped its long-time rival Embraer of the same status. By then both companies will be focused on business aviation, balanced in Bombardier's case by rail transportation and in Embraer's by defense. The heyday of their rivalry in the regional aircraft market will be a thing of the past, the pieces sold off or their control transferred to Airbus and Boeing. It has been a slow dismantlement for Bombardier's aerospace business, which grew spectacularly through the 1990s. And the reason is the C Series, an aircraft program that proved too big for the Canadian manufacturer, not technically but financially, pushing the company to the limits of liquidity.