Bombardier Wins a Contract Worth Over $252 Million for Royal Air Force Pilot Training in the United Kingdom
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--Bombardier Aerospace has signed a contract with the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force (RAF) to provide aircraft and services in support of primary flying training. The Light Aircraft Flying Task (LAFT) program was developed under the U.K.'s Private Finance Initiative and is worth in excess of $252 million (101 million sterling pound) over a 10-year period. Under the contract Bombardier Aerospace, Defence Services will provide a fleet of Grob 115E aircraft and related services to the University Air Squadrons and Air Experience Flights at 13 locations throughout the U.K. In total, the company will be responsible for providing an estimated 50,000 flying hours per year. Bombardier Aerospace, Defence Services will be responsible for all engineering, maintenance, logistics and services support. Until now, four different contractors have provided mainly engineering and maintenance for the RAF-owned Bulldog aircraft. ``This program consolidates and strengthens our activities in the United Kingdom and positions us for future expansion overseas. We are now looking forward to working with both our customer and our suppliers in making this contract a success,'' said Richard Beasley, vice president and general manager of Bombardier Aerospace, Defence Services, U.K. Operations. Bombardier is already involved in all phases of flying training. In Plymouth, England, the corporation operates a grading flight for the Royal Navy, in Portage La Prairie, in Canada, it operates the Canadian Aviation Training Centre which provides flying grading as well as rotary and multi-engine training. Bombardier is also the prime contractor in the NATO Flying Training in Canada program which offers countries an effective method of training pilots from basic to a fighter lead-in level. "This contract confirms that for military flying training, Bombardier is a world leader in the private sector. In conjunction with our other training activities, it highlights the fact that an increasing number of governments recognize that Bombardier is the most effective commercial partner for military flying training programs,'' said Jacques G. Auger, president of Bombardier Aerospace, Defence Services. Bombardier Aerospace, a unit of Bombardier Inc., is the world's third largest civil aircraft manufacturer with operations in three countries. Leading the 20- to 70-passenger regional carrier market, Bombardier Aerospace offers complete families of turboprop and regional jet aircraft. It has the industry's widest range of business jets, offering both full and fractional ownership, and also produces firefighting/maritime mission aircraft. It provides technical services, aircraft maintenance and pilot training to business, regional airline and military customers. Bombardier Inc. is a Canadian corporation, active in the fields of aerospace, rail transportation equipment, recreational products, financial services and services related to its products and core businesses. It operates plants in 11 countries in North America and Europe and more than 88 per cent of its revenues are generated outside Canada. Bombardier's revenues for its fiscal year ended January 31, 1998 totaled $8.5 billion.
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Wednesday February 24, 9:20 am Eastern Time Company Press Release SOURCE: Teal Group Corporation
Bombardier Wins a Contract Worth Over $252 Million for Royal Air Force Pilot Training in the United Kingdom
