MONTREAL - The market for fuel-efficient turboprop airplanes is getting a little more crowded with this week's launch of a Chinese-made airplane, but Bombardier says there's enough demand for its regional aircraft to go around.
Montreal-based Bombardier said it's the only aircraft manufacturer with three distinct families of products: turboprops for short haul, regional jets for mid-range and the proposed CSeries for longer-range and mainline carriers.
"Together, our products offer an unbeatable range for a growth market like China where we believe there is a market for us and indigenous makers," Bombardier spokesman John Arnone said in an e-mail.
Bombardier says it has nearly half of the large turboprop market, led by the Q400. It has orders of 301 aircraft with a backlog of about 110 planes.
The company is studying an extended 90-seat version of the plane.
China Aviation Industry Corp. 1 (AVIC 1) plans to launch on Sunday its latest propeller aircraft, the Modern Ark 600. The fuel-efficient competitor to Bombardier's Q400 and the French ATR will roll off the assembly line in the northern city of Xian, the China Daily reported.
"To assure a bigger slice of the turboprop market, the MA600 is designed to meet demand for the next 10 years," said senior AVIC 1 official Chen Fusheng.
The only MA model on the market is the 50-to 60-seat MA60 that is in service mainly in Africa and Southeast Asia.
The new MA600 will be 300 kilograms lighter, consume less fuel and be equipped with maritime survival functions for island countries, the government-run newspaper said.
Trials are slated to begin in September with the first delivery following next year to a civil aviation university in southwest China.
The company has also started to develop the MA700 followup aircraft mainly targeted for sale in Europe and the United States.
Turboprops have huge potential in the era of increasing oil prices, Chen said.
"We hope to see that 40 per cent of all turboprop aircraft delivered in the world in 2018 are from the MA series."
China's AVIC 1 may not be the only rival that will attempt to muscle in on the turboprop market. Bombardier's Brazilian rival Embraer said it is analyzing a re-entry into the commercial turboprop market to substitute for its small regional jets.
Others may have plans to enter the market, but Bombardier is further advanced and has the advantage of being able to offer product now, says Jacques Kavafian of Research Capital.
"Bombardier is well-positioned to service that market now when the airlines need it," the analyst said Wednesday.
In the face of soaring fuel prices, airlines are delaying capital expenditures until the oil situation and travel demands are clearer.
"Who says that by 2018 that need will be there," he said, adding growing competition is something Bombardier needs to stay on top of.
Over the next 20 years, there will be global demand for 1,900 turboprop planes, representing more than one-third of the demand for regional aircraft, suggested joint research by Bombardier and the Aviation Industry Development Research Centre of China.
Bombardier shares gained 25 cents, or 3.43 per cent, in heavy trading to close at $7.54 in trading Wednesday afternoon on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
