Bombardier Cuts CRJ Line, Appoints Travolta

Bombardier is cutting production of its CRJ regional jet series due to a slowdown in orders, but there won't be any layoffs as a result. The company says it has more than enough work for the about 350 workers who will be affected at the company's Mirabel, Quebec, CRJ plant. Bombardier currently has the CSeries airliner, Global 7000 and Global 8000 business jets and the Learjet 85 under development and will simply shift workers to those projects. It's not saying how much production will be reduced but the CRJ backlog is now at about 60 aircraft, or 15 months, and the company likes to have about 18 months worth of work ahead of it on all its production lines. It says the future market looks strong for CRJs and production can be adjusted in the future if need be. Meanwhile, Bombardier signed actor and pilot John Travolta to a promotional role with its business jet division.

Travolta recently got rated in the Challenger business jet (he has 11 type ratings) and Steve Ridolfi, president of Bombardier Business Aircraft, said his extensive knowledge of aviation and his frequent use of business aviation makes him ideal for the title of brand ambassador for the company. "Business aviation has always made sense to me in that it offers flexibility, privacy, security, and most importantly, timesaving -- meaning I have the ability to keep up with my busy schedule and have more time for my family, which is very important to me," said John Travolta. "On top of that, I'm a pilot -- I love to fly. Bombardier designs aircraft as much for the person flying them as for the passenger. I'm proud to represent their aircraft."