Analyst Predicts Bombardier 150-Seat CSeries

 By Joseph C. Anselmo

A Wall Street analyst believes Bombardier is planning a 150-seat version of its new CSeries jet, adding yet another challenger to an Airbus-Boeing duopoly that already is under assault from new competitors in China and Russia.

J.P. Morgan’s Joseph B. Nadol predicts Bombardier could announce orders this year for a larger CSeries jet. While the Canadian aircraft builder has only unveiled the 110-seat CS100 and 130-seat CS300, Nadol believes a 150-seat model “would have real potential to take share away from Boeing and Airbus.”

“While Bombardier has not publicly discussed a 150-seat variant, we believe one is in the works, and that is a key reason why Airbus and Boeing are taking a hard look at re-engining the A320 and the 737,” Nadol wrote in a Jan. 6 note to his clients.

A Bombardier spokesman said that Nadol’s 150-seat figure is speculative, but with the CSeries design not scheduled to be frozen until later this year, he declined to rule out the possibility of the aircraft growing beyond 130 seats, moving it into a segment of the passenger aircraft market that has been dominated for years by the A320 and 737.

 READ MORE:    Aviationweek.com