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Bombardier widens appeal to emerging markets with new Q400 variants

MONTREAL plane maker Bombardier Aerospace plans to increase sales in emerging markets with more variety after failing to make much of a mark, said company president Guy Hachey at England's Farnborough Airshow.

Mr Hachey told Reuters in an interview that the company has expanded to four from one its range of Q400 NextGen turboprop regional airliners including the an 86-seat version it markets.

"We were not successful in emerging markets," he said. "In the developed markets we've done extremely well, however in the emerging markets we get killed. So we've developed different variants of the Q400."

The three new variants include a dual-class configuration, the 86-seater, which Thai carrier Nok Air has ordered, and a "Combi" which reduces seating to 50 to increase cargo space.

Bombardier's 74-seat Q400 has been popular on North American routes, but with three new variants it aims to compete better with rival maker ATR, which is a partnership between Airbus Group and Alenia Aermacchi.

He said while Bombardier models offer more seating, more speed and an auxiliary power unit allowing gate boarding with the engines shut down, ATR's lower prices help it draw emerging market customers.

"Up to 90 seats in turboprops is going to be a very good segment," Mr Hachey said, who marked the company's 500th Q400 deal at the air show.

Bombardier expects demand for 5,600 aircraft in the 60-99-seat range in next 20 years and predicts global fleet to double in this market segment, with demand split between turboprops and regional jets.