LDN - Business

Bombardier reviewing CSeries deliveries due to UTC engine fixes

[October 25, 2017] By Allison Lampert

(Reuters) - Bombardier Inc on Tuesday said it was reviewing 2017 delivery plans for its CSeries jets, after U.S. engine parts maker United Technologies said it was resolving issues with its geared turbofan (GTF) engines to make them more durable.

United Technologies Corp, the maker of Pratt & Whitney jet engines, held back some GTF shipments to plane makers and offered spares to airlines, which had faced problems with engines already in service.

"Bombardier is working closely with Pratt & Whitney to evaluate and mitigate any potential impact on its customers and will provide a full update on November 2, when it issues its Q3 results," spokeswoman Nathalie Siphengphet said by email.

Both Bombardier and Airbus SE have faced delayed deliveries of separate GTF engines.

Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders said recently that Pratt's engine has "tremendous potential" despite initial "teething problems." The European plane maker is taking a majority stake in the CSeries program for $1.

"Pratt is working very hard to iron these out for our A320 family as well as for the CSeries," he told Reuters in Montreal.

Montreal-based Bombardier has forecast deliveries of about 30 CSeries jets this year, but has only delivered 12 so far, raising questions about its ability to meet its guidance.

"We've got some supplier challenges so you know, we'll see how the ramp up goes," Bombardier Commercial Aircraft President Fred Cromer told Reuters on Friday. He did not provide names of suppliers.

Korean Air Lines Co Ltd, which in August forecast it would receive five CSeries jets this year, expects to get "hopefully one" by the end of 2017 and six more in the first half of 2018, President Walter Cho said on Wednesday.

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A logo of jet manufacturer Bombardier is pictured on their booth during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland on May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

Pratt & Whitney was delayed in producing a corrected engine liner required for the deliveries, he told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry conference in Taipei.

"But I want to be clear I still have full confidence in Pratt & Whitney," Cho said. "They have been our choice of power plant for over 30 years and I have no doubt they will fix the problem and it will be a good airplane for our fleet."

In April, Bombardier said Pratt would issue the liners for the engines in Korean's order for delivery this past summer.

At the time, Bombardier instructed CSeries operators Swiss International Air Lines and airBaltic to inspect their engine combustion liners after 2,000 flight hours. Pratt & Whitney said it had added a combustor lining inspection to its regularly scheduled maintenance of the engine.

(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Jamie Freed in Taipei and Hyunjoo Jin in Seoul; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar, Tom Brown and Himani Sarkar)

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