Aircraft

Bombardier is considering moving production of the Q400 mid-fuselage from its Belfast facility to China's Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC), but has not made a final decision.

"We have not made a final decision yet to move the mid-fuselage to Shenyang on the Q400. We are studying it. Obviously it makes sense to study it, given that [SAC] is building the Q400 forward and aft fuselages," says Bombardier vice-president commercial aircraft programmes Ben Boehm.

Boehm notes that it would be "a big decision to move [Q400 work] from a centre of excellence in Belfast to SAC".

However, any reports of potential job losses are speculation at this point, says the Bombardier executive.

ATI yesterday reported that SAC has been handed some Q400 mid-fuselage work. SAC director of Bombardier programmes Fu Peng said his company will deliver its first Q400 mid-fuselage at the end of November, and that it aims to deliver nine Q400 mid-fuselages in 2010.

SAC, which is producing the centre fuselage of the CSeries, has also been tapped to produce the wing-to-fuselage wingbox for the aircraft "That is nothing new," says Boehm, adding that agreement on that work has been in place for quite some time. "This is part of where we're going with China."