Just three weeks after launching its Corporate Shuttle Solutions at EBACE, Bombardier is already receiving interest from a number of potential customers.
Speaking at the show yesterday, Peter Edwards, president, Bombardier Business Aircraft, said the company had so far received five letters of intent (LoI), "which we are in the process of converting into firm orders".
Backed
Corporate Shuttle Solutions features the Challenger 850/870/890 aircraft which are backed by an engineering, programme, sales and customer support team.
The three aircraft in the corporate shuttle family are derivatives of Bombardier's CRJ200/700/900.
If the five aircraft covered in the LoI are converted into sales, Bombardier estimates the value of the contracts to be $145 million.
Florida-based Aero Toy Store sent LoIs for two aircraft while an unnamed Eastern European customer sent an LoI for one Challenger 850. Bombardier did not disclose the source of the other two LoIs.
"Corporate shuttles are now emerging as a legitimate market segment, placed between commercial airliners and corporate aviation," Edwards said.
He was also upbeat about the overall business aviation market.
"Business aviation has bounced back strongly and I now believe that sustainable growth will continue through the next several years," he said. "The base of business is broader and stronger than it has ever been."
Edwards also announced that two new warehouses are on schedule to open in Chicago, USA and Frankfurt, Germany. He added that a spare parts depot also due to open in Dubai, UAE, later in the year, with the company working to finalise a depot location in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Source: Flight Daily News
