These days, the Bombardier’s aerospace division is a shell of what it once was – having
divested itself of its three commercial aircraft programs - all within the last two and a half
years.
So how did we get here?
Bombardier entered the aerospace sector in 1986 when it purchased Canadair – the manufacturer
of the Challenger widebody business jets and the CL-215 amphibious firefighting aircraft.
In 1989, Bombardier launched the 50-seat Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) program. These regional
jets would be staples of regional travel across North America – filling the fleets of regional
affiliates of the big three US carriers and Air Canada.
Bombardier expanded further by purchasing the de Havilland division of Boeing in 1992
to manufacture the ever-popular Dash 8 series regional turboprop.
With the CRJ program becoming firmly established through the early 90s, we would eventually
see the development of the 70-seat CRJ700 in 1997.
Aside from commercial aircraft, Bombardier was also continuing to develop its private
jet business. In 1990 it acquired Learjet and would go on to launch a third business
jet program called Global Express, which accompanied the existing Challenger program.
In the 2000s, Bombardier would launch the 86-seat CRJ900 and the 100-seat CRJ1000.
Bombardier would then launch the C Series program in 2008- a five-abreast commercial
airliner seating 110-130 passengers. The aircraft would feature next-generation technologies
and cutting-edge fuel-efficiency. It’s planned entry into service was to be 2013.
“Nobody at Bombardier was naïve about the challenge…They tried to mitigate every risk
that they saw, but even with all that, it was still a bigger challenge than they could
deal with.” -Gary Scott, Commercial Aircraft Division leader, Bombardier via Financial
Post In 2008 we would see Lufthansa Group sign
a letter of interest for up to 60 aircraft, including 30 options. However, aside from
this order, there was far less demand than the manufacturer was anticipating.
Unfortunately, development delays, cost overruns, and a 2014 engine failure all seriously hampered
Bombardier’s ability to sell the aircraft. In retrospect, some say that the aircraft
was a great product that lacked sufficient marketing to secure sales.
Eventually, Delta Air Lines would order 75 CS100 jets with another 50 options. However,
this one sale would draw some unwanted attention from Boeing, which filed a petition for dumping.
Boeing claimed the aircraft threatened US industry, while Bombardier argued that there
was no comparable-size aircraft being manufactured. In September 2017, the US Department of Commerce
imposed duties of nearly 300% - risking the crucial deal Bombardier had with Delta – which
it saw as an opportunity to gain a foothold in the lucrative US marketplace.
While the US International Trade Commission would go on to rule in Bombardier’s favor
a few months later, the prolonged legal battle didn’t help with orders of the new jet.
Seeing an opportunity, Airbus would take a controlling stake in the CSeries program and
give it a boost with more robust marketing and manufacturing power in July 2018.
Airbus would rename the aircraft the A220 and boost its popularity: So much so that
additional funds were needed to ramp up production- funds that Bombardier didn’t have. This
forced Bombardier to sell its remaining stake in the program to Airbus at the start of 2020.
In late 2018, Bombardier would divest itself of The Dash 8 program, selling it to Viking
Air and Longview Aviation Capital Corporation. In June 2019, less than a year later, Bombardier
sold its Canadair Regional Jet Program to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Now, in the middle of 2020, Bombardier’s Aerospace division is left with its three
lines of private/business jets. A division that might still be sold off.
There are many contributing factors to Bombardier Aerospace’s fall from glory. Like most things
in life, it’s not straightforward and likely a combination of many forces. Here are just
a few: Huge debts were taken on from CSeries development
An ugly trade dispute with Boeing, and the US Department of Commerce.
Intense competition from Embraer An unfruitful yet costly LearJet 85 program
Whereas larger manufacturers would have the resources to weather some of these storms,
Bombardier was just not able to ride out some of the rough patches.
Do you think Bombardier Aerospace’s downfall was a result of one specific factor? Let us
know in the comments.