Bombardier Eyes Opportunities in Africa at the African Airlines Association Annual General Assembly
November 17 2012 - 8:55AM
Marketwired
Bombardier Commercial Aircraft will reinforce its commitment to the
African airline industry with its attendance at the 44th Annual
General Assembly of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) in
Johannesburg, November 18-20, 2012.
Bombardier will showcase its powerful line-up of commercial
aircraft, the Q400 NextGen regional turboprop, the best-selling CRJ
NextGen regional jet family, and the all-new CSeries mainline
jetliner, the new benchmark in airliner design. Earlier in 2012, a
Q400 NextGen aircraft made eight stops in Africa during an
extensive demonstration tour that visited five continents.
Bombardier commercial aircraft are already significantly present
on the African continent with more than 160 Dash 8/Q-Series and CRJ
aircraft in service with, or ordered by, 40 operators and leasing
companies in over 20 countries.
Recent orders from African carriers include five Q400 NextGen
aircraft from Ethiopian Airlines to increase its fleet to 13 of the
type and RwandAir's purchase agreement for two CRJ900 NextGen
regional jets plus two options, the first of which recently entered
revenue service. Ethiopian Airlines' Q400 NextGen aircraft - three
of which will be operated by its affiliate, ASKY Airlines of Togo -
were the first to be outfitted with Bombardier's newly introduced
dual-class interior for the turboprop.
"This region is poised for growth and over the next 20 years, it
is predicted that Africa will be one of the leaders in annual
economic growth, second only to China. We are excited by the
potential opportunities for expanding commercial aviation in Africa
and our role in that development," said Raphael Haddad,
Vice-president, Sales, Middle East and Africa, Bombardier
Commercial Aircraft, who will lead Bombardier's delegation at the
AFRAA Annual General Assembly.
"Our market forecast for the 2012-2031 timeframe predicts that
African airlines will take delivery of 550 aircraft in the 20- to
149-seat segment industry wide. The majority of that demand is
expected to be in the 100- to 149-seat market segment that belongs
to our CSeries family of airliners, while the remainder is expected
to be mainly in the 60- to 99-seat market segment in which our Q400
NextGen and CRJ NextGen aircraft compete," added Mr. Haddad.
Putting our customers first locally, globally
Bombardier is committed to putting its business and commercial
aircraft customers first by offering the highest level of support
as close as possible to their operational bases. Bombardier
operates a worldwide network of internationally deployed support
personnel, Regional Support Offices on five continents, wholly
owned Aircraft Service Centers, Authorized Service Facilities and
24-7 Customer Response Centers. The company also offers
comprehensive pilot and maintenance training through dedicated
facilities.
To complement its extensive support network, Bombardier offers
optimized maintenance and support solutions through its Smart
Services programs for business and commercial aircraft. In the past
year, enrollment on the Q400 Smart Parts program has quadrupled
since its launch in 2008. Republic Airlines is the latest carrier
to select the increasingly popular program for its fleet of 32 Q400
turboprops.
About Bombardier
Bombardier is the world's only manufacturer of both planes and
trains. Looking far ahead while delivering today, Bombardier is
evolving mobility worldwide by answering the call for more
efficient, sustainable and enjoyable transportation everywhere. Our
vehicles, services and, most of all, our employees are what make us
a global leader in transportation.
Bombardier is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Our shares are
traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD) and we are listed on the
Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America indexes. In the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, we posted revenues of $18.3
billion USD. News and information are available at bombardier.com
or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier.
Notes to editors
Images of Bombardier CSeries jetliners, CRJ NextGen regional
jets and Q400 NextGen turboprops are posted with this release at
www.bombardier.com.
Additional information and images are available at
www.cseries.com, www.crjnextgen.com and www.q400nextgen.com.
Follow @Bombardier_Aero on Twitter to receive the latest news
and updates from Bombardier Aerospace.
Visit Bombardier Commercial Aircraft's "one stop" news centre
for news, product information, videos, photos and social media
activity: http://Press.CommercialAircraft.Bombardier.com.
Bombardier, CRJ, CRJ900, CSeries, Dash 8, NextGen, Smart Parts,
Smart Services, Q400 and The Evolution of Mobility are trademarks
of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.
Contacts: Bombardier Commercial Aircraft Marc Duchesne
+1-416-375-3030 www.bombardier.com
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