Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 16, 2008 - (Page 24)

FA R N B O R O U G H 2 0 0 8 Bombardier and SAC Partner for CSeries It’s official. Tuesday, Bombardier Aerospace and Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, a division of stateowned AVIC 1 (China Aviation Industry Corporation 1) signed an agreement, formalizing their June 2007 memorandum of understanding regarding SAC’s risk-sharing role in designing, manufacturing, assembling and testing the fuselage of the CSeries regional jet. The work package, requiring an investment of “hundreds of millions of dollars,” according to Wang Yawei, SAC’s senior vp commercial aircraft, includes supply of the forward, center, aft and tail fuselage sections, plus doors. The partnership agreement not only reduces Bombardier’s total investment in the CSeries program, it also provides an entree into will continue its involvement in the ARJ21-900, a stretched version of the ARJ21-700, that’s considerably less fuel-efficient. But that “makes long-term sense for Bombardier,” according to Pierre Beaudoin, president and CEO of Bombardier Aerospace. The BD/SAC partnership is in line with Shenyang Municipality’s intention to become a world-class center for aerospace manufacturing. Wang Ying, vice mayor of Shenyang, said the city has designated a 4.25 sq mi-parcel as an aerospace industrial park that he believes will become the secondmost prosperous area after automobile manufacturing. “We’ve finally achieved what we’ve longed for, for a very long time,” Wang observed.—Fred George AVIC I chairman Luo Yang and evp Hu Wenming, Bombardier’s Pierre Beaudoin. China’s rapidly emerging airline market. Wang believes that more than 3,100 commercial airplanes will be needed, including more than 870 regional airplanes. SAC offi- cials said they’d “act as a catalyst for the CSeries” to help the two firms develop their relationship with China Southern Airlines. Bombardier as a quid pro quo, however, EADS May Sell Socata to Daher EADS is in “exclusive negotiations” to sell a majority interest in its general aviation subsidiary Socata, manufacturer of the single-turboprop TBM 700, to Daher. You’ll be forgiven for asking “To whom?” Daher, in fact, is a fast growing, family-run French holding company with interests in the aerospace, automotive, defense and nuclear industries and 2008 revenues forecast to exceed 600 million euros. In aerospace, Daher produces composite structures, fluid distribution and cabin insulation products for commercial and business aircraft as well as civil and military helicopters. Airbus and Eurocopter are big customers, but Daher is making components for Gulfstream’s G650 as a subcontractor to the Netherlands’ Stork-Fokker. Daher has made expanding its aerospace business a priority for 2008. The company has opened a new dollar-zone plant in Nogales, Mexico, and another in Australia in a joint venture with Eurocopter. Taking control of Socata would make it an OEM and secure substantial additional aerostructures work on Airbus and Eurocopter aircraft, the ATR 42/72, Dassault Falcon 7X and Embraer 170/190. “Bringing together Daher and EADS Socata would allow the creation of a major player in the areas of aerostructures and business aviation and develop joint projects in these two areas, in particular the [Airbus] A350, for which EADS Socata Daher would be a Tier One partner,” EADS says.—Graham Warwick, Aviation Week & Space Technology Qatar Airways Signs MoU for Up to Six Airbus A321 Jets Qatar Airways and Airbus signed an MoU here yesterday for the purchase of as many as six A321 jets–four firm and two on option. The four firm jets are slated for “near term” delivery, Qatar said. The six will bring the carrier’s A321 fleet to 14 jets. Counting the options, the Qatar narrowbody fleet will increase to 27 aircraft, including 11 A320s and two long-range A319 craft. “Qatar Airways is clearly bucking the industry trend by placing aircraft orders and being confident of a bright future for the Middle East and global aviation industry,” said CEO Akbar Al Baker. He’s at center in photo above with Airbus president and CEO Tom Enders (left) and Airbus COO John Leahy. “Airbus is very pleased,” Enders said. France’s Daher looks likely to buy Socata and the TBM lines from EADS. 24 July 16, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 16, 2008

Bombardier, Shenyang $5 Billion for Composites 787 and Seven V-22s for Export Sale? Saving Fuel at SFO Raytheon Roars Into UAVs Bell Eyes ARH-70A Costs All According to Plan We Fly the PC-12NG Russia’s T-50 PAK-FA Optimistic in Israel ICAO Sim Classifications Pratt to Power New Drone Russian Conglomerate

Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 16, 2008

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