(The Canadian Press) TORONTO –
Bombardier Inc. (
TSX: T.BBD.B,
Stock Forum) says it has signed a letter of intent to sell 30 of its Q400 NextGen aircraft to China's Nantong Tongzhou Bay Aviation Industry Co. Ltd.
The company is preparing to launch a commercial airline in China called Sutong Airlines and says plans to operate an all-Bombardier fleet of the Q400 airliners when it starts operations in 2015.
Based on the current list price, Bombardier says a firm order would be worth approximately US$995 million.
Bombardier says that as of Sept. 30, 2013 it had booked 476 firm orders for its Q400 and Q400 NextGen turboprops.
``Bombardier's Q400 NextGen airliner fulfills our business plan requirement for a high-performance regional aircraft that is fast, reliable, economical and comfortable,'' said Nantong president Zhou Binzhen.
Andy Solem, Bombardier``s vice president of sales for China and North Asia, says the Q400 NextGen is ideally-suited to service China's vast geography while having excellent short-haul range.
Bombardier manufactures transportation equipment. The company operates in two segments, Bombardier Aerospace and Bombardier Transportation.
On Friday, Bombardier rose 2.4% and was trading at $4.71 a share. The company had a market cap of $6.8 billion, based on 1.4 billion shares outstanding.