By Skies Magazine | August 28, 2013 Estimated reading time 4 minutes, 14 seconds.
Bombardier and Rostekhnologii (“Rostec”), a state corporation controlled by the Russian Federation, announced on Aug. 28 that they had signed a series of preliminary agreements, including a letter of intent (LOI) for the sale of 50 Q400 NextGen aircraft; and a market development agreement reached with Rostec and its aircraft leasing subsidiary, Avia Capital Services, that will provide an opportunity to place at least 50 additional Q400 NextGen aircraft in the region. The parties also concluded a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to validate the opportunity to set up a Q400 NextGen final assembly line in Russia.
All three agreements were signed at the 2013 International Aviation and Space Salon, known as the MAKS 2013 Air Show, held at Moscow’s Zhukovsky Airport. Should definitive agreements be reached, based on the list price of the Q400 NextGen airliner, a firm-order contract for 100 Q400 NextGen aircraft would be valued at approximately US$3.39 billion.
The establishment of a Q400 NextGen final assembly line in the Russian Federation, as outlined in the MOU, is a key commercial requirement of both the LOI and the Market Development Agreement. Under the MOU, Bombardier and Rostec will validate the opportunity to set up a final assembly line in Russia, which would be managed by a joint venture between the two parties.
Should definitive agreements be reached, a Q400 NextGen aircraft final assembly line in Russia would produce aircraft for Russian customers, and would be incremental to Bombardier’s current Q400 production operation in Toronto. Definitive agreements should be concluded in 2014, subject to obtaining the required internal, governmental and third-party approvals, as well as other usual conditions.
“The implementation of this project with our potential partner, Bombardier, will contribute to the fleet renewal of our airlines, as well as to improve flight safety and reduce fares on regional routes. We are entering an important stage of validation towards formalizing the creation of this joint venture that will lay the foundation for the future of Russian turboprop aviation,” noted Alexey Fedorov, managing director, aviation projects, Rostec.
“We recognize this as a landmark opportunity for the Q400 NextGen aircraft program. This aircraft is ideally suited for airlines operating within the geographically diverse Russian Federation and the neighbouring regions where, together with Rostec, we are forecasting a 144 per cent growth in demand for 60- to 99-seat turboprops over the next five years,” said Mike Arcamone, president, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft.
Over the next 20 years, Bombardier forecasts a market demand of approximately 400 aircraft in the 20- to 99-seat market in the region.
During the MAKS 2013 Air Show, Bombardier also announced it was entering into exploratory discussions with Russian aircraft manufacturer IRKUT Corporation, focusing on the development of IRKUT’s customer support infrastructure within Russia, based on Bombardier’s widely respected customer support model.
“Russia continues to be a key area of focus for Bombardier and, in the spirit of partnership, we are pleased to explore areas of potential common interest with a view to building stronger relationships with our Russian counterparts,” said Eric Martel, president, Customer Services & Specialized and Amphibious Aircraft, Bombardier Aerospace. “It is our hope that these preliminary discussions will lead to several areas of cooperation that will support successful entries into service of the MS-21 and CSeries aircraft in Russia, and around the world.”
IRKUT’s 150- to 212-seat MS-21 commercial airliner is currently in development and is scheduled to enter into service in 2017.
