Aviation Industry
Bombardier Aerospace announced today that Transport Canada has awarded the 86-seat Bombardier CRJ900* regional jet Aircraft Type Certificate. Type Recommendation from Europe’s Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) and Type Approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are expected in the near future. Flight testing of the aircraft, the largest model in Bombardier’s best-selling CRJ* family, was completed at the Bombardier Aerospace Flight Test Center in Wichita, Kansas in June 2002 following a 13-month program that accumulated some 895 hours in 347 flights by two aircraft. “The Bombardier CRJ900 meets or exceeds published performance data established when the program was officially launched on July 24, 2000,” said John Holding, executive vice-president, Engineering and Product Development. Bombardier Aerospace. “Certification has been achieved on schedule less than 26 months after program launch.” The Bombardier CRJ900 will be the first to market in the new 90-seat class when it enters service with Mesa Air Group of the U.S. (under the America West Express banner) in the first quarter of 2003. Mesa has placed firm orders for 20 Bombardier CRJ900 while GECAS has placed firm orders for 10 of the aircraft. “We look forward with great anticipation to having the Bombardier CRJ900 join the CRJ200* and CRJ700* in airline service,” said John Giraudy, president, Bombardier Regional Aircraft. “Like its smaller siblings, the Bombardier CRJ900 will have the lowest operating costs of any aircraft in its class, providing its operators with excellent profit potential.” The Bombardier CRJ900 has 94 per cent systems commonality with the Bombardier CRJ700. For existing Bombardier CRJ customers, like Mesa, the Bombardier CRJ900 offers larger passenger capacity while providing a high degree of operational compatibility and fleet flexibility. The wing and fuselage of the first production aircraft, serial number 15002, were joined at Bombardier’s assembly plant in Mirabel, Québec on July 28, 2002. The aircraft is currently being readied for its first flight, scheduled for this October, and delivery to Mesa. Bombardier’s CRJ900 full flight simulator has received interim Level C certification by Transport Canada and the FAA. Located at the Bombardier Aerospace Training Centre (BATC) in Montréal, the reconfigurable CRJ700/CRJ900 simulator is on schedule for an upgrade to Level D configuration in the third quarter of 2003. Mesa pilots and maintenance technicians are scheduled to begin training at the BATC in the third quarter of this year. The Bombardier CRJ200 and Bombardier CRJ700 share the same pilot type rating. Bombardier is confident that the same type rating will be extended to include the new 86-seat Bombardier CRJ900. Once that has been achieved, pilots transitioning from the Bombardier CRJ200 or CRJ700 to the CRJ900 will require only minimal differences training, either in the BATC classroom or by self-study at the customer’s own training facility. No simulator sessions will be required. The Bombardier CRJ program is the most successful regional aircraft program in history. As of August 31, 2002 firm and conditional orders and options for the CRJ series totalled 2,487 aircraft, of which 717 have been delivered. Bombardier Aerospace, a unit of Bombardier Inc., is a world leader in the design, and manufacture of innovative aviation products and provides services for the regional, business and amphibious aircraft markets. It also offers Bombardier Flexjet® fractional ownership, aircraft charter and management, technical services, aircraft maintenance and pilot training for business, regional airline and military customers. Bombardier Inc., a diversified manufacturing and services company, is a world-leading manufacturer of business jets, regional aircraft, rail transportation equipment and motorized recreational products. It also provides financial services and asset management in business areas aligned with its core expertise. Headquartered in Montréal, Canada, the Corporation has a workforce of some 80,000 people in 24 countries throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Its revenues for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2002 stood at $21.6 billion Cdn. Bombardier trades on the Toronto, Brussels and Frankfurt stock exchanges (BBD, BOM and BBDd.F). ® Registered trademarks of Bombardier Inc. * Trademarks of Bombardier Inc. Information: Kenneth Swartz Bombardier Aerospace Toronto: (416) 375-3030
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