Jetrader - Summer 2018 - 16

In the early days, you expect some normal bumps in the road. I think
we've been fortunate with the specific engine version that's on the CSeries.
We haven't had some of the problems that we've seen with other programs.
and they plan on really taking advantage
of everything that the CSeries has to offer
performance-wise, economic-wise and in
the package, that provides unparalleled
passenger comfort. It's going to be great.
I used to be a fleet planner - that's
where I started in the industry - and
having a smaller airplane with competitive
unit costs compared to larger aircraft is a
huge advantage and a great tool for fleet
planners. They can use the airplane without sacrificing seat-mile costs in smaller
markets to develop new markets and
defend competition in larger markets -
again with very similar seat-mile costs
versus that of larger airplanes. At the end
of the day, when we talk about the nokidding power of the unit economics, what
really matters is the size of the airplane
and how many of those seats you can take
advantage of.
That's where the conversations are being
held these days in the fleet-planning
departments at airlines around the world.
People were wondering if Bombardier could
deliver on what it was promising, and the
fact is we have. Twice since I've been here,
we've improved the performance capability
of the aircraft, and it's going to be a great
tool for the airlines.
Jetrader: We talked a little bit about the
partnership with Airbus already, and to
put it mildly, there has been a lot of focus
on the CSeries in the past year with the
announcement of the partnership with
Airbus. With production picking up pace
on the CSeries, what is your long-term
vision for this partnership and its role
in the company's future?
FC: The key there is that it is a partnership, and it's a good mix of everything
that Airbus has to offer, which we've been
pretty public about in terms of what they
bring to the table. They've got a massive customer service-support network
that the CSeries can take advantage of.
They obviously have a world-class sales
and marketing team that complements
all the work that our amazing team has
already done, so that will help the program

continue to advance. And then on the cost
side  - like every other OEM out there
managing cost  - as you're ramping up
and getting to that steady state target
profitability, Airbus comes in and helps
that with their very large supply chain and
procurement network.
So, long-term, the partnership is going
to be able to bring more value, more volume and reach more customers than maybe
Bombardier could have done on its own.
Jetrader: A big selling point for the
CSeries for a lot of people is the Pratt
& Whitney 1500 series engines, although
some of these engines have experienced
problems within the past year or so.
Do those issues concern you at all, or are
they just a normal bump in the road that
manufacturers have to experience?
FC: In the early days, you expect some
normal bumps in the road. I think we've
been fortunate with the specific engine
version that's on the CSeries. We haven't
had some of the problems that we've seen
with other programs. We're very satisfied with where we are today and with
what Pratt & Whitney's plans are for the
engine going forward. They've put the
right resources in place to manage some
of the supply chain issues they had early
on. Some of the technical issues are not
the kind of technical issues that people
get worried about; they're the kinds of
things that Pratt has all the capability
they need to solve, and what we're seeing
in terms of the operation of the engine is
very encouraging. And then when we talk
about the performance of the aircraft, a
large part is due to the engine and the
better performance that we're seeing as
our operators fly the aircraft. We've got
a great partnership with Pratt & Whitney,
and we're very optimistic about the future
with them. For these near-term issues, if
you point to any other startup program
in the launch phase, you expect some of
that, and Pratt is doing everything they
need to do to get past all of that. We're
encouraged, and we're very pleased with
the performance of the engine, as well as

16 The official publication of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading

the whole combination of the engine and
the aerodynamic wing. The optimized fuselage is creating performance capabilities
that are even better than what we thought
when we designed the aircraft.
Jetrader: There's never any shortage of
difficulties for manufacturers in aviation. So what challenges specifically
do you feel Bombardier is facing in the
short- and long-term future?
FC: The answer to that is very similar
to what any other OEM would tell you at
the early stages of launching a brand-new
program like the CSeries. The near-term
challenge is really execution on the ramp
up - making sure that the supply chain is
ready for the volume and is delivering on
time, on quality and really what we need
to be able to execute and achieve the ramp
up that we have planned for the CSeries.
That's so important because the customers that have jumped into this program
are anxious to get the aircraft. We already
have Swiss, airBaltic and Korean operating
the aircraft. Delta will be getting their
airplanes later this year, and that ramp up
needs to continue. And as like other OEMs,
we're orchestrating the supply chain to
come together at the right time to make
sure that we can produce more and more of
these airplanes. So that's a challenge for
the next couple of years in front of us as
we continue to reach our maximum output
in terms of that product.
On the other programs, the challenges
are pretty well known. If you look at the
programs that have had a successful and
continuing lives like the Q400 and the CRJ,
obviously we've gone through a lot of continuous improvement on these programs.
We will focus on that going forward  -
making sure that the program can continue
to drive value for the customers that are
relevant to what they're looking for in terms
of what they're trying to do in the cabin
for segmenting revenue.
For us, the challenge is to stay in front
of that and make sure that our products
are evolving in a way that's meaningful
and adds value to the customers.
Jetrader - Summer 2018

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