Canada’s Bombardier has landed firmly in rival Embraer’s backyard with Brazilian certification of its latest business jet model, the Global 6000. The companies, both of which accuse each other of being unfairly supported by their respective governments, are involved in a bare-knuckle scrap for dominance in the small airliner market and Embraer’s ambitious business jet development program has not gone unnoticed by Bombardier. “This is an important milestone in our Global 6000 jet’s history of leadership in Brazil, and we expect it to help generate even more interest in the world’s leading long-range, large cabin business jet,” said Fabio Rebello, Bombardier’s VP for Latin American sales, in a news release. “With this new certification the entire families of Learjet, Challenger and Global jets now have Brazilian certification.”
Last week Embraer announced it was picking the same engines for its updated version of the E-series airliners as Bombardier is planning for its CSeries, which is a direct challenge to the E-Jets. In fact, Bombardier is helping Pratt & Whitney develop the PurePower geared turbofans at facilities near Montreal. The companies are predicting a significant efficiency increase with the new engines. Bombardier hopes to fly the first CSeries proof-of-concept aircraft later this year but Embraer’s re-engined E-jets are four years away.
