Bombardier

Facing difficult challenges related to its CSeries regional airliner, Bombardier is turning to an outsider to head the company after CEO Pierre Beaudoin stepped down. Bombardier announced that it has hired Alain Bellemare, a former top executive at United Technologies, to head the Canadian company. Beaudoin’s title has been changed to Executive Chairman. His father, […]

Canada’s Bombardier said today it is halting its Learjet 85 development program amid weak business jet demand and will lay off about 1,000 employees at its sites in Querétaro, Mexico, and Wichita, Kansas. The Lear 85 is the first all-composite business jet from Bombardier, and was to become the new flagship of the Learjet division […]

Bombardier yesterday formally introduced the Challenger 650, a refresh of the Challenger 605 model with upgrades to the cockpit and cabin that have enticed fractional-ownership giant NetJets to place a firm order for 25 of the large-cabin jets plus options for 50 more. The Challenger 650 features the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21-based Vision flight […]

Less than two weeks after Bombardier got the sign-off from Transport Canada for its Challenger 350 super-midsize business jet, the FAA has given its nod to the certification of the new model. The announcement came just over one year after the Montreal-based company announced the new program, which is a modified version of the Challenger […]

Bombardier is beginning the process of trying to determine what caused an uncontained engine failure during ground maintenance testing of CSeries Flight Test Vehicle 1 in Mirabel, Quebec, on May 29 that has halted the certification program for the narrow-body jetliner. One of the test airplane’s Pratt & Whitney PW1000G geared turbofan engines failed during […]

After facing several delays, Bombardier Aerospace’s Learjet 85 took off on Wednesday from Wichita Mid-Continent International Airport to successfully complete its first flight. The Learjet 85 performed “very well,” according to Vice President and General Manager Ralph Acs. The all-composite jet flew for 2 hours and 15 minutes and reached an altitude of 30,000 feet […]

Look for the Learjet 85 to make its hotly anticipated first flight in the coming weeks after Bombardier completed engine ground runs and low-speed taxi tests prior to receiving the necessary first-flight permit from the FAA. The Learjet 85 is the first all-new airplane from the manufacturer in more than 15 years. Launched in 2007, […]

While Bombardier finished up 2013 with good news, announcing the certification of the Learjet 70 and 75, the Montreal company has chosen to eliminate 1,700 jobs to reduce expenses because of a combination of delays in the CSeries and Learjet 85 programs. The CSeries has now been delayed for another year, with introduction into service […]

Bombardier achieved certification of its Learjet 70, a super-light-jet stalemate of the Learjet 75 that earned its approval papers a few weeks ago. Validation of the airplane, a revamped version of the Learjet 40, clears the way for immediate deliveries of the Model 70, which Bombardier launched in May 2012 amid a slowing market for […]

The ink has barely dried on Flexjet’s history making $5.2 billion order with Bombardier but the fractional ownership provider is already changing the deal — which suits Bombardier just fine. Flexjet announced yesterday it has converted options for 30 Learjet 85s that it placed last month to firm orders and has asked for options on […]