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Last month, the short-haul jet was hit with a 300% US import tariff in response to opposition from rival aerospace firm Boeing, which put a deal with Delta Airlines at risk and threatened jobs at Bombardier’s factory in Belfast, where the wings are made.
The new deal will see Airbus take a majority 50.01% stake in the C-Series, and give them the right to buy full control of the project in 2023. Instead of cash, the European firm are offering use of a factory in the United States, and its extensive marketing operation which it’s hoped will boost sales.
“This is a win-win for everybody,” said Airbus CEO Tom Enders. “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 programme tremendously.”
Keith Hayward, an aerospace writer and consultant and fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society told Professional Engineering it was “a very shrewd move” on the part of Airbus. He said the C-Series would fill a gap in the company’s offering at the lower end of their range, as well as closing off a threat that Bombardier would expand the range to 150 seats and start threatening Airbus’ own products. “It’s a terrific win, and it saves Airbus having to think about the bottom end of the low-cost carrier market,” he said.
Boeing, which instigated the tariff case against Bombardier by accusing it of ‘price dumping’ in its deal with Delta, has also responded to the news. “This looks like a questionable deal between two heavily state-subsidised competitors to skirt the recent findings of the US government,” it said. “Our position remains that everyone should play by the same rules for free and fair trade to work.”
Hayward said Boeing was using the opportunity of a Donald Trump White House to press home an advantage and counter the threat of globalisation. “The real target hasn’t been Bombardier but the threat of a Chinese investment into Bombardier which would have given them [the Chinese] a big step up,” he said.
A final decision on the tariff case will be made in February, but with Airbus pledging to assemble the C-Series jet in Alabama instead of Canada, there will be potential American jobs on the line too which could prompt a rethink, said Hayward.
Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.