Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) signed a long-term framework agreement with Bombardier, which will see the two aircraft manufacturers working closely together.
Pierre Beaudoin, president and chief executive of Bombardier, said: “We believe that this collaboration will generate positive results for both the C919 and CSeries aircraft programs. It also opens the door to further cooperation on any other projects that would be mutually beneficial."
Under the agreement, the two companies will work together on marketing, customer relations and customer support, as well as developing future Comac and Bombardier product lines. The agreement will also work on identifying and enhancing the commonalities between Comac’s C919 and Bombardier’s CSeries aircraft since both jets seat around 150 passengers and therefore have similar target markets. The multi-faceted collaboration will enable both companies to gain a greater foothold of the market.
As reported earlier (see story here), the Comac aircraft was unveiled at the Airshow China last year and has since attracted 100 orders from several customers including Chinese carriers such as Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Hainan Airlines. The company’s maiden flight will take off in 2014 with the jets entering service two years later.
The introduction of this aircraft will dramatically change the narrow-body aircraft landscape currently dominated by the Airbus A320 and Boeing B737.
For more information, visit www.bombardier.com
Alisha Haridasani
