Bombardier Aerospace, which owns Shorts in Belfast, has signifcantly ramped
up its long-term forecast of global demand for business jets and for
aircraft that can carry between 20 and 149 passengers.
The Canadian company, which at last week's US:NI investment conference
unveiled a £70m investment in Shorts, gave the update during a briefing in
Belfast.
The funding, for the CRJ1000 programme, is a major boost for Shorts and will
underpin 1,000 of the 5,000 jobs at the company.
Bombardier, the world's third-largest aircraft maker, expects the industry
to deliver 1,320 business jets annually until 2017.
Meanwhile, Bombardier is expected to decide by the end of this year whether
it will launch the $3.2bn development programme for its proposed C-Series
jet, which would seat 110-135 passengers.
The planemaker is inviting advance orders and a launch customer for the
C-Series, which if approved, would begin service in 2013 and take the
Canadian company into the mainline airline jet industry.
Shorts has made a pitch to produce key components for C-Series but the
rising value of sterling against the dollar has raised concerns that the
work may go elsewhere.
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