Bombardier, Alenia fly high on boom in turboprop sales

Bombardier Inc. and Europe's Alenia Aeronautica are riding high on the back of a boom in turboprop airliner sales that has been driven by surging fuel prices and expanding air travel in Europe, the Middle East, India and Asia.
This week, Bombardier has signed orders for its 72-to-78-seat Q400 turboprop, potentially worth $1.5 billion U.S.
Industry reports say it may soon boost production at the same Toronto assembly plant it considered closing in 2004 for a lack of orders.
It's the same story for Alenia, the joint venture of Italy's Finmeccanica and EADS that builds the 50-to-70-seat turboprops in France. Orders are rolling in, output is rising and a technical upgrade is on the way. It may launch a larger version in 2015.
Aside from North America, Q400s are flying in Africa, Europe and the Asia-Pacific area. But Bombardier and Alenia are selling more turboprops in emerging markets that are taking off because of the transfer of oil wealth.
The Alenia product outsells the Q400 in some markets, especially India, but it is slower than the Q400 and its range is shorter.
24/10/07 Montreal Gazette, Canada

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Categories: Foreign Oct 2007, General Aviation Oct 2007