Bombardier to aggressively market in India

Bombardier, a world-leading manufacturer of transportation solutions, is looking to aggressively market its commercial and business aircrafts in India. The company, which recently appointed three sales representatives in India, also plans to set up a regional customer support office for the sub-continent next year. The support centre is likely to be set up in Delhi as both the customers of Bombardier's commercial aircraft were based there. The company already has customers support centres in Sydney, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai and Tokyo. Bombardier, which entered Indian market three years ago, has two customers who have bought 10 aircraft. JetLite operates seven and Air India three. "We anticipate that over the next 20 years, India would require 500 aircraft in the 20 to 149 seat range. We participate in this market from 68 to 149 seats. All three families of our aircraft fall in this range," Bombardier senior advisor John Arnone told IANS on board a CRJ-900 aircraft during a demonstration flight Friday. The CRJ-900 is among four Bombardier aircraft on display at the ongoing India Aviation-2008, India's first international conference and exhibition on civil aviation. "The potential for Bombardier as a regional carrier in this market is vast and it is our hope and expectation to build on that in the months and years to come," Arnone maintained. "The Q400 is a 70-80 seater twin-turbo aircraft and is ideal for short-haul routes. The CRJ is a 70-100 seater regional jet family for medium-haul operations. We are marketing both the aircraft all over the world. We are working hard to market them in India," he added. "The third family of aircraft, called C Series, is expected to come into service in 2013. This can seat up to 145 passengers and can travel 3,000 nautical miles. As India is a large country, this will be an ideal aircraft for Indian market," Arnone said. The company feels that the market for business aircraft in India was relatively small but there would be a huge potential if the government takes measures like improving the infrastructure and reducing taxes. "The number of companies is growing and there is an increasing demand for business aircraft. This would bring more investment into the country," said David M. Dixon, regional vice president, Asia Pacific, Business Aircraft, Bombardier. The Bombardier officials said overall aviation market continued to be strong despite the slowdown in recent months. The Montreal-based company appears to be on track for another good year. During the first half of 2008, it delivered 124 aircraft against 220 orders. Last year, it received 252 orders and delivered 232 aircraft.