Airbus and Bombardier are joining forces, much to the chagrin of rival Boeing.
Airbus has acquired a majority stake in Bombardier's C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership for no cost. Under the agreement announced Monday, the European manufacturer will provide procurement, sales and marketing and customer support expertise for the business.
Some of the C Series aircraft will be produced in the U.S., allowing carriers like Delta Air Lines to avoid hefty import duties of nearly 300 percent.
The partnership is a welcome turn of events for Bombardier.
Airbus chief executive, Tom Enders called the agreement a "win-win for everybody."
"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 program tremendously," Enders said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Bombardier President, Alain Bellemare called Airbus the "perfect partner."
"Their global scale, strong customer relationships and operational expertise are key ingredients for unleashing the full value of the C Series," he said in a statement. "This partnership should more than double the value of the C Series program and ensures our remarkable game-changing aircraft realizes its full potential."
A Boeing spokesman told Reuters that the deal looks questionable: "Our position remains that everyone should play by the same rules, for free and fair trade to work."
The C Series aircraft range from 100 to 150 seats and the single-aisle market is a promising one, accounting for 70 percent of the expected global future demand for aircraft.
The transaction is expected to be completed during the second half of 2018.
The announcement comes two weeks after Southwest Airlines debuted its Boeing 737 MAX 8, becoming the first airline in North America to utilize the quieter and more fuel-efficient aircraft.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
