Chinese Airline Places Conditional Order for Six Bombardier CRJ900 NextGen Aircraft

Bombardier Aerospace announced today that a Chinese airline, which has requested to remain unidentified at the present time, has signed a conditional purchase agreement for six CRJ900 NextGen aircraft. The transaction, which is the first for CRJ900 aircraft in China, includes options on an additional five CRJ900 NextGen aircraft.

Based on the list price for the CRJ900 NextGen aircraft, should the conditional agreement for the six aircraft be converted to a firm order, the contract would be valued at approximately $264 million US. Should all five options also be converted to firm orders, the value of the contract would increase to $491 million US.

“Since the introduction of the original Canadair Regional Jet in 1992, Bombardier’s CRJ Series aircraft have become the best-selling regional aircraft program in history and we look forward to welcoming more operators in China,” said Guy C. Hachey, President and Chief Operating Officer, Bombardier Aerospace. “Bombardier Aerospace is uniquely positioned as the only aircraft manufacturer with three distinct and optimized aircraft families in the 60- to 149-seat market segment. We are well positioned to grow our commercial aircraft business in China.”

More than 80 Bombardier-produced aircraft, including CRJ Series and Q-Series commercial aircraft, as well as Learjet, Challenger and Global business jets are currently operating in China.

“Bombardier predicts that over the next twenty years, China’s fleet of commercial aircraft will grow as it becomes the world’s second largest market for new aircraft deliveries, following closely behind the United States,” said Andy Solem, Vice President, Sales, China, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. “We predict a demand for almost 2,400 commercial aircraft in the 60- to 149-seat segment in China and are working closely with local airlines, suppliers and stakeholders to assist in fleet and infrastructure expansion.”

Like other members of the CRJ Series family of aircraft, the light weight and advanced aerodynamics of the CRJ900 NextGen regional jet combine to deliver improved efficiency and reduced operating costs compared to other aircraft in its class. The combination of a larger winglet and other optimizations since the launch of the CRJ900 aircraft, give the CRJ900 NextGen regional jet excellent airfield and en-route fuel consumption. All CRJ NextGen aircraft feature new interiors with larger overhead luggage bins, larger windows, improved lighting, and redesigned ceiling panels and sidewalls.

Worldwide, CRJ Series aircraft are in service with more than 60 airlines and have logged more than 31 million flight hours and 26 million take-off and landing cycles. In addition to airline operations, more than 30 customers operate corporate variants of CRJ Series aircraft.

Bombardier has recorded firm orders for 1,708 CRJ Series aircraft (including 265 CRJ900 and CRJ900 NextGen aircraft), with 1,647 CRJ Series aircraft (including 252 CRJ900 and CRJ900 NextGen aircraft) delivered as of July 31, 2011.

BOMBARDIER