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For decades, Boeing looked over its shoulder disdainfully at Airbus. In recent years, Boeing has been in the wake turbulence of Airbus. Today, Boeing better be looking over its shoulder again, this time at Canada's Bombardier. With the announcement on March 16 that Bombardier will produce a 110-130-seat jetliner, the Canadian aircraft manufacturer is moving into the big leagues. Bombardier has long been a successful manufacturer of turboprops and regional jets, all but inventing the latter market. The 110-130-seat market puts Bombardier at the lower end of the big-jet marketplace dominated by Boeing and Airbus. Bombardier plans to seek government...

Boating enthusiasts, I need a bit of help. I saw a commercial for the new Evinrude E-Tec outboard motor on Sunday, and they advertised a web site where you could get a coupon for up to $1,000 off one of their new motors. I assumed that rather than writing down the web site I could simply go to the Evinrude/Bombardier web site and find it later, when looking it up was more convenient. After visiting the Evinrude web page I've discovered that I should have taken a moment to write down the web URL they advertised, because I cannot find...

BANGKOK - Prime Minister Jean Chrétien has dismissed reports that his government recklessly misspent millions of taxpayers dollars. According to Auditor General Sheila Fraser's report, the Chrétien government misspent $100 million on Bombardier jets, spent money on advertising firms with Liberal connections and misused money for partisan polling. Some of the findings of Fraser's next report, which isn't due until late next month, were leaked to The Globe and Mail on the weekend. Meeting with reporters at the APEC summit in Bangkok, Chrétien said he doesn't comment on leaks but defended the purchase of the jets. "We wanted to have...

FAA Grounds All Learjet Model 45 Business Jets By Don Phillips Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, August 12, 2003; 4:50 PM The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the immediate grounding of all 222 Learjet Model 45 business jets after discovering that a part in the tail section can fail abruptly, possibly leading to a loss of control of the airplane. The grounding is a blow to Learjet owner Bombardier of Montreal, whose stock was already undergoing a pounding in recent months. It was also a blow to Bombardier subsidiary Flexjets, one of three major competitors to Warren Buffett's business jet fractional...

Embraer today announced an order from JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU) for 100 EMBRAER 190 airliners with deliveries starting in the third quarter of 2005. The airline also took options on 100 additional EMBRAER 190s. The total value of the firm contract at list price is US$ 3 billion, with a potential value of more than US$ 6 billion if all options are converted. With this order, JetBlue becomes the launch customer for this model of the EMBRAER 170/190 family of airliners. JetBlue will outfit the aircraft with 100 leather seats, four abreast at 32-inch pitch with its signature DIRECTV satellite...

Bombardier lands major contract Bombardier Inc. said Monday it has struck a deal with Arlington, Va.-based US Airways Group Inc. for the sale of as many as 275 regional aircraft with a potential value of $10.4-billion

MONTREAL (CP) - Canada's Bombardier Inc. will roll out this week - in Washington - a jet engine-powered locomotive it has been quietly developing for years in partnership with the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration. Bombardier believes its 240-kilometres-an-hour JetTrain is the answer to providing high-speed rail service throughout North America using existing track and without the prohibitive cost of electrifying rail networks. It calls JetTrain the first high-speed, non-electric locomotive designed for the North American market. It uses a turbine engine to generate power, instead of the diesel engine used in nearly all locomotives in North America for the past...