In the first concrete sign of a turnaround for bizjet maker Bombardier, the Montreal-based company said it delivered 163 airplanes in last year’s 11-month fiscal period, a slight increase from the year before, while also booking orders for 191 new airplanes – almost double the figure recorded in 2010.
Last year’s improved performance was still somewhat lower than Bombardier’s record deliveries in 2008 of 239 business jets, although it should be noted that the Canadian company’s fiscal year in 2011 was only 11 months long after the reporting period’s end point was adjusted from Jan. 31 to Dec. 31.
Considering the tenuous state of the world economy, the 2011 results are promising, the company said. “Our large business aircraft segment has done extremely well, as demonstrated by our Global business jets family where we have seen continuous growth,” said Bombardier Aerospace president Guy Hachey.
The results were almost perfectly in line with guidance Bombardier provided at this time last year, when it said it expected to deliver 240 total airplanes – although the mix of aircraft was different than what had been anticipated. This was the result of lower deliveries of Bombardier’s commercial airliners, which totaled 78 airplanes last year versus 97 the year before. Bombardier also delivered four of its amphibious aircraft in 2011.
