Bombardier livre son 1 500e avion regional CRJ

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - le 24 avril 2008) - Bombardier Aerospace annonce aujourd'hui avoir livré son 1 500e avion de la série CRJ. Ce modèle CRJ900 NextGen a été remis à Northwest Airlines en mars 2008 et sera exploité par Mesaba Airlines, un transporteur aérien de Northwest Airlines


Le vendredi 18 avril, cette livraison a été célébrée en même temps que celle d'un autre avion régional CRJ900 NextGen livré à Northwest Airlines, à l'usine Bombardier de Mirabel au Québec. Ce dernier a été remis à Dan McDonald, Vice Président de la division Fleet Planning and Strategy de Northwest Airlines, Inc.

Northwest Airlines has ordered 56 CRJ200, 86 CRJ440 and 36 CRJ900 NextGen airliners. Mesaba Airlines operated 25 de Havilland Dash 8 turboprops in the early 1990s, before Bombardier acquired de Havilland.

"The CRJ900 aircraft has exceeded our expectations for performance and passenger comfort," said Mr. McDonald. "The NextGen interior is a real winner with our customers and results of our passenger survey confirm this fact. Thanks to all the Bombardier employees that made this important product improvement a reality."

"The 1,500th Bombardier CRJ aircraft, which we delivered to Northwest last month, is the result of a solid partnership between Bombardier, our suppliers and employees. Above all, it's about the proud Bombardier workforce who produced the aircraft," said James Dailly, Senior Vice-President, Sales, Bombardier Regional Aircraft.

Bombardier has established the only true family of regional jets with various seating capacities. The CRJ Series has grown from the original 50-seat CRJ100 and CRJ200 to the 44-seat CRJ440, 70-seat CRJ700, 75-seat CRJ705, 86-seat CRJ900 and the 100-seat CRJ1000, which is scheduled to enter airline service in the fourth quarter of 2009. In the spring of 2007, Bombardier introduced its next generation of regional jets, the CRJ700 NextGen, CRJ900 NextGen and CRJ1000 NextGen, with all-new interiors, lower operating costs and reduced green house gas emissions.

Bombardier launched the CRJ program on March 31, 1989 with 56 firm orders and six options on the books. The CRJ regional jet first flew on May 10, 1991 and received Canadian Department of Transport type approval on July 31, 1992, followed by U.S. and European approvals early in 1993. The CRJ began revenue service with launch customer Lufthansa CityLine on November 1, 1992.

Today, firm orders for CRJ Series aircraft stand at 1,663 aircraft. CRJ aircraft have been ordered by more than 50 customers in more than 20 countries throughout the Asia/Pacific region, Africa, Europe, Middle East, and North and South America.

About Bombardier

A world-leading manufacturer of innovative transportation solutions, from commercial aircraft and business jets to rail transportation equipment, systems and services, Bombardier Inc. is a global corporation headquartered in Canada. Its revenues for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2008, were $17.5 billion US, and its shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD). Bombardier is listed as an index component to the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America indexes. News and information are available at www.bombardier.com.

Bombardier, Challenger, CRJ, CRJ100, CRJ200, CRJ440, CRJ700, CRJ900, CRJ1000 and NextGen are trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.

Notes to Editors

Images of Northwest Airlines CRJ900 NextGen aircraft and of today's ceremony are available in our Multimedia Library at: www.aero.bombardier.com/htmen/F14.jsp

The 1,500 CRJ Series aircraft delivered include aircraft delivered as Challenger 800 Series corporate variants.

Contacts:

Bombardier Aerospace
John Arnone
416-375-3030
www.bombardier.com

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