Boeing’s chance to savor its tariff victory over Bombardier proved short-lived after arch-rival Airbus Tuesday announced it will take a majority stake in the company that builds the Canadian plane-maker’s C Series aircraft.
Airbus will take a 50.1 per cent majority stake in C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership (CSALP), leaving Bombardier with 31 per cent and government agency Investissement Quebec (IQ) with 19 per cent. Currently, Bombardier holds 62 per cent and IQ 38 per cent.
The C-Series is at the centre of a subsidy wrangle between Bombardier and Boeing that saw the US Government propose stiff tariffs on the C series that would make it harder to sell aircraft in the States.
Bombardier has orders for 237 C Series aircraft but sales have stalled in recent months. The deal with Airbus provides a shot in the arm and opens a new front in the battle for the burgeoning single aisle market.
The new agreement would see CSALP’s headquarters and primary assembly line remain in Quebec but includes additional C series production at Airbus’ US manufacturing facility in Alabama.
Airbus will provide procurement, sales and marketing and customer support expertise to the venture and sees the 100 to 150 seat C series as “highly complementary” to its single aisle aircraft in the 150-240-seat range.
It said in a joint statement that it expected its sales marketing and support networks to strengthen and accelerate the C Series’ commercial momentum while its supply chain expertise would generate significant production cost savings.
“This is a win-win for everybody,’’ Airbus chief executive Tom Enders said. “The C Series, with its state-of-the-art design and great economics, is a great fit with our existing single-aisle aircraft family and rapidly extends our product offering into a fast growing market sector.
“I have no doubt that our partnership with Bombardier will boost sales and the value of this program tremendously.
“Not only will this partnership secure the C Series and its industrial operations in Canada, the U.K. and China, but we also bring new jobs to the U.S.
“Airbus will benefit from strengthening its product portfolio in the high-volume single-aisle market, offering superior value to our airline customers worldwide.”
Bombardier chief executive Alain Bellemare said the partnership with Airbus would double the value of the C-series program “and ensures our remarkable, game-changing aircraft realizes its full potential’’.
Quebec’s Deputy Prime Minister, Dominique Anglade, said the deal would ensure the sustainability and growth of the C Series program.
“In the current context, the partnership with Airbus is, for us, the best solution to ensure the maintenance and creation of jobs in this strategic sector of the Quebec economy," he said.
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