Bombardier Aviation: Main Article

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Main article: Bombardier Aviation

Bombardier Global Express Global 6000 landing at Montreal International Airport

Bombardier C Series CS100 Flight Test Vehicle (FTV1) at Mirabel

In 1986, Bombardier acquired Canadair for C$120 million from the Government of Canada after it
recorded the largest corporate loss in Canadian history.[17]
In 1989, the company acquired Short Brothers.[18]
In 1990, it acquired Learjet. In 1992, the company acquired de Havilland Canada from Boeing.[19]
In 1995, the company founded Flexjet. In December 2013, the division was sold for $195
million.[20]

A Bombardier CSeries (Airbus A220) in Swiss livery

On June 29, 2016, Bombardier delivered the first CSeries CS100 aircraft (now called the Airbus
A220) to Swiss International Air Lines. Air Canada placed an order for the aircraft one day
earlier.[21]
In April 2016, Delta Air Lines placed an order for the aircraft.[22][23] On September 26, 2017,
after Boeing complained that Bombardier was selling the CS100 to Delta Air Lines below cost
due to subsidies from the governments of Canada and Quebec, the United States Department of
Commerce proposed a 219% tariff on the aircraft. Boeing's complaint stated that the CS100
planes were being sold at US$19.6 million each, below the US$33.2 million production
cost.[24][25] The governments of Canada and the United Kingdom threatened to stop
ordering Boeing aircraft since the company was putting aerospace jobs at risk.[26][27] On January
26, 2018 the United States International Trade Commission overturned the tariffs.[28] Boeing did
not appeal.[29]
In July 2018, Airbus acquired a 50.01% stake in the CSeries for one Canadian dollar, with an
option to acquire the remaining interest by 2024.[30][31] Airbus built a second CSeries assembly line
at its A320 assembly facility in Mobile, Alabama.[32]
In November 2018, the company announced the sale of its turboprop passenger aircraft to an
affiliate of Viking Air. It also announced 5,000 layoffs.[33]
In March 2019, the company sold its Business Aircraft Training business to CAE Inc. for $645
million. The business included flight simulators and training devices for the Bombardier Learjet,
Challenger and Global product lines.[34]
On 25 June 2019, Bombardier agreed with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to sell the CRJ
programme, a deal was expected to close in early 2020 subject to regulatory
approval.[35] Bombardier will retain the Mirabel assembly facility and produce the CRJ on behalf of
Mitsubishi until the current order backlog is complete.[36]
In October 2019 Bombardier announced the sale agreement of its
remaining aerostructure division to US company Spirit AeroSystems.[37] The division at time of
sale involved component manufacture for new and after-market Bombardier group and Airbus
group aircraft models, and also operated in aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul. Due to
how the 2020 pandemic affected the industry, the agreement was renegotiated with the sale to
Spirit concluded finally in October 2020.[38] Bombardier's former aerostructures division
purchased by Spirit consisted at time of sale of operations in Belfast UK, Casablanca Morocco
and Dallas USA. [39]
The 2019-20 aerostructures division sell-off was described at the time as supporting
Bombardier's "strategic decision to reposition itself as a pure-play business aircraft company". [39]
In February 2020, Airbus acquired an additional 25% stake in the A220 for US$591 million. This
transaction was the final step to get Bombardier Aviation out of the commercial jet industry.[40]

Rail equipment[edit]
Main article: Bombardier Transportation

An MR-73 train arriving at Lucien-L'Allier station, February 2009

The company diversified into rail transport after the 1970s energy crisis reduced demand for
snowmobiles.
In 1974, the company received its first order – to build MR-73 trains for Société de transport de
Montréal for use on the Montreal Metro. In 1975, the company acquired Montreal Locomotive
Works. It was sold to General Electric in 1988.
In 1982, the company won a contract from New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority to
build 825 subway cars for $663 million.[17][41]
In 1985, the company ceased manufacturing locomotives and concentrated on producing
passenger train rolling stock. It acquired a 45% stake in La Brugeoise et Nivelles (formerly BN
Constructions Ferroviaires et Métalliques) based in Bruges in 1986, the assets of U.S. railcar
manufacturers Budd Company and Pullman Company in 1987, and ANF Industrie based
in Crespin, Nord, France in 1989. A series of acquisitions in the United
Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, and Mexico further increased operations.
In 1996, the company was selected as the lead developer for the Acela Express trains, the
fastest trains in North America, in a $710 million contract. Problems with the trains resulted in
lawsuits between the company and Amtrak.[42]
In 2001, Bombardier acquired Adtranz (DaimlerChrysler Rail Systems), a manufacturer of trains
which were widely used throughout Germany and Great Britain, becoming one of the largest
manufacturers of railway rolling stock in the world.[43][44] This division produced the Bombardier
Turbostar.
In 2005, it launched the Bombardier Zefiro high-speed rail, with speeds of 200–380 kilometres
per hour, for the Ministry of Railways (China).
On February 13, 2020 Alstom agreed to buy the Bombardier Transportation division for €7
billion.[45]

Divested lines of business[edit]


Bombardier Capital[edit]
From 1973, when it was based in Colchester, Vermont, Bombardier Capital offered financial
services such as lending and leasing.
In 1997, the company began transitioning some services to Jacksonville, Florida.[46]
In 2001, it ceased taking on new consumer loans.[47]
In 2005, Bombardier sold its inventory finance division to GE Commercial Finance.[48]

Military[edit]
The company acquired the rights to the Volkswagen Iltis in 1981. Production ceased in 1989.[49]
In 2003, the company sold its arms industry division in Canada. Military Aviation Services was
sold to SPAR Aerospace. Land-based arms industry products made by Urban Transportation
Development Corporation ceased operations.[50][51]

Public transport bus in Ireland[edit]


Main article: GAC Ireland
In the late 1970s in the Republic of Ireland, CIÉ (now Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus)
commissioned a range of single and double-decker buses to be designed and produced.
CIÉ looked for partners to build these buses in Ireland, eventually finding two: Bombardier, and
the United States-based General Automotive Corporation (GAC) from Ann
Arbor, Michigan.[52] The two companies formed a new company Bombardier Ireland Limited, 51%
owned by Bombardier and 49% owned by GAC. In August 1983, Bombardier sold its shares to
GAC, with the company renamed GAC Ireland Limited.[53][54]
The prototypes were devised in Germany and production of 51 express coaches (KE type) and
366 double-decker buses (KD type) were assembled between 1980 and 1983 at a facility
in Shannon, County Clare. They remained in service until 1997 and 2000 respectively. Some
surviving examples are now exhibited at the National Transport Museum of Ireland at Howth
Castle.[55]

Bombardier Museum

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