Listen: Bombardier Turns Its Focus to Regional Travel
Commercial aircraft company, Bombardier is turning its business focus towards regional jets and turboprops, after ceding a majority stake in its high-tech CSeries jet program.
Attempts to break into the mainline jet market, dominated by Airbus and Boeing, have proved difficult for the Canadian-based company.
Bombardier will shift focus to its CRJ regional jets and has recently upgraded the cabins to feature more overhead bin space, in a move to appeal to business travelers.
The company received an unexpected boost from Delta, which recently ordered 20 of the new CRJ 900 design, as part of its move to replace aging planes with newer regional jets.
Bombardier will lower the price on its regional Q400 turboprop offering by outsourcing wing and cockpit manufacture from Toronto to lower cost countries.
The company plans to earn additional profits by promoting aftermarket services for the 2,000 plus planes already in the air.
