Employment levels at the Belfast aerospace company Shorts could further increase following the announcement yesterday by its Canadian parent, Bombardier Aerospace, that it has signed a deal to sell 64 of its 50-seater CRJ200 regional jet aircraft to US firm Skywest Airlines.
Skywest has also taken an option to buy another 64 planes in a deal worth almost $1.5 billion (€1.6 billion). Around 1,500 of the 7,200 employees in Shorts' plants are employed making the aircraft's fuselages, wing parts and engine nacelles.
The deal is just the latest in a series of orders for Bombardier's regional jet aircraft. It follows a $4 billion order last summer from GE Capital Aviation Services - 50 firm orders and 100 options - and the announcement by Bombardier at last year's Farnborough Air Show that it was going ahead with plans to build the larger CRJ900 version. There was also a $2 billion order for 104 aircraft placed by US airlines for the smaller CRJ 50-seat and 70seat versions, an agreement which included options on another 396.
The increasing demand for regional jet aircraft has been reflected in a steady increase in investment and employment in Bombardier's Belfast operation. Employment is now running at the highest level since the second World War. Mr Michael Ryan, the vice-president and general manager of Bombardier Aerospace Belfast, said yesterday he was proud the company had made such a major contribution to the design and manufacture of the 50-seater jet, which he said had become the most successful commuter aircraft ever.
"In Belfast, we will be producing around 150 fuselages and engine nacelle sets for the regional jet during the coming year," Mr Ryan said. `
`It is our largest and most successful programme. We are also working on the 70-seater version, which has just completed its testing and certification, and the 90-seater version will have its first flight shortly."
Mr Ryan said the regional jets were in demand because they were economical, and because they had the range to bypass busy (and expensive) hub airports, using smaller airports beyond the range of conventional turboprops. Around 1,500 Shorts employees work on the regional jet programme, 50 per cent more than a year ago, and Mr Ryan said there was a chance this number could increase if the number of orders continued to rise. Since the CRJ series was introduced in 1991, the company has taken nearly 800 firm orders, with agreements for another 600. The Bombardier CRJ series is the market leader in the regional jet market, which is the fastest growing sector of the aviation business. The orders for the CRJ series have already led to a significant increase in the rate of production, from 100 aircraft sets last year to 150 during the current financial year. Even before the latest order, the company had already increased its output in Belfast from 9.5 to 12.5 aircraft a month to cope with the increased demand.
As well as being the main European supplier for the aircraft manufacturer Boeing, Shorts also carries out work for Lockheed Martin, and constructs engine nacelles for RollsRoyce, Pratt and Whitney and General Electric. But it is the growing market for regional jets that has contributed most to the company's growth.
