Bombardier signs deal with India’s SpiceJet for up to 50 Q40 Bombardier Inc. has clinched a key order from India’s SpiceJet Ltd. for as many as 50 turboprop planes worth $1.7-billion (U.S.) as the Canadian aerospace manufacturer begins to see the fruits of a bolstered marketing and sales effort implemented two years ago.
SpiceJet, an Indian budget carrier, said at the Paris Air Show on Tuesday that it signed a letter of intent to buy 25 Bombardier turboprop planes with future purchase rights for 25 more. Each aircraft has a list price of $32.2-million, but Bombardier typically offers discounts for sizable orders.
It is Bombardier’s third order for its legacy Q400 this month, cementing the plane’s previously shaky status in Bombardier’s commercial aircraft lineup. Philippine Airlines Inc. bought another seven turboprops on June 19 under a previous deal and Ethiopian Airlines bought five more on June 9.
“These announcements are likely to ensure the viability of the Q400 program,” Benoit Poirier, an analyst at Desjardins Securities Inc., said in a research note. He said Bombardier had only 26 Q400 planes in its firm backlog as of March 31 this year, which represented about a year of visibility on production.
Bombardier has had trouble in recent years winning new orders for its established commercial aircraft, namely the Q400 and CRJ regional jets, which has hurt both revenue and profitability. The Q400 has been hamstrung by a particular problem in that it is an estimated 20 per cent to 30 per cent more expensive than rival aircraft made by European joint venture ATR, the market leader.
Although carriers in North America and Africa have embraced the Q400, Bombardier has had trouble persuading customers in other regions to pay more for the extra speed, size and technology it offers compared with rival aircraft. Airlines using the planes to fly shorter distances don’t necessarily make use of those performance advantages.
To remedy the situation, Bombardier has been trying to keep the Q400’s manufacturing costs in check so it can keep the list price competitive. More importantly, however, it has changed its sales and marketing approach under commercial aircraft president Fred Cromer. The C-suite shakeup that Bombardier initiated two years ago has also filtered down the organization.
Mr. Cromer brought in Colin Bole – a former senior executive with Airbus and International Lease Finance Corp. lauded for his mastery of airline strategy and aircraft negotiations – as chief of sales in May, 2015. Mr. Bole has beefed up and revamped his own team, replacing half the company’s six regional vice-presidents and bringing on a new marketing chief in a bid to get the best people possible, a Bombardier spokesman said. There’s also been significant renewal of the sales ranks below the vice-president level, the spokesman said.
“SpiceJet is the first demonstration of increased success in Asia, together with Philippine Airlines,” Mr. Bole said in an interview. “It’s a tough market because ATR has big market share. But we’re intent on getting our [slice of deals].”
In India, orders for new aircraft are being fuelled by a growing middle class that is flying for the first time. In Africa, the airline market has been growing slowly but steadily as the industry is becoming more liberalized and the infrastructure to support that growth is being put in place, according to Bombardier.
Mr. Bole said he gave his team a mission to revitalize the Q400 and CRJ order books. He said that before he arrived, Bombardier had been very focused on the development and entry into service of the C Series, its new flagship airliner, at the expense of proper marketing of the capabilities of its other commercial aircraft.
That marketing push is now taking hold, Mr. Bole said. “Aircraft sales campaigns typically last anywhere from 12 to 24 months. And it takes time to rebuild the confidence and build up the organization. This is the beginning.”
The new team has pushed relationships with potential customers to the point where they understand early on how Bombardier aircraft can fit into a client’s strategy, according to Mr. Cromer. That modelling and information is then brought forward to the negotiating table, well before a deal is concluded.
“When we bring in the sales teams, we’re so much more advanced in those presentations and conversations because we’ve got the marketing foundation, which is kind of critical,” Mr. Cromer told reporters in a briefing before the Paris show. “That was somewhat lacking. So now we’ve put resources where needed. And it’s one of those reasons why I feel very confident about the [sales] conversations that we’re having.”
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