INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Authors: JordanBombardier Inc and Airbus SE named new leaders for the CSeries jetliner programme (Reuters)Montreal/Paris:
Bombardier Inc and Airbus SE named new leaders for the CSeries jetliner programme on Wednesday, in a further step towards
finalising a deal for the European planemaker to take control of the Canadian project, according to memos seen by Reuters.Airbus agreed last
year to take control of the programme for a symbolic Canadian dollar after the small, lightweight jetliner failed to win enough buyers and
ran over-budget.Philippe Balducchi, head of performance management for Airbus Commercial Aircraft, will be chief executive of the joint
entity controlled by Airbus with six executives from each side, according to memos to staff of both companies.Balducchi, who is well-known
to aerospace analysts after a stint running investor relations at Europe's largest aerospace group, reiterated the deal should close by
mid-year."This is good news because there is a lot of appetite for this remarkable aircraft in the market," he wrote in one of the
memos.Airbus and Bombardier both declined to comment.The companies have said Airbus' global sales network and greater bargaining power with
suppliers should boost sales and lower the CSeries' manufacturing costs.Montreal-based Bombardier's stock rose 1.8 percent in late-afternoon
trading, breaking a three-day losing streak.Sources familiar with the matter have said the companies have an internal target of closing the
deal by the end of May after winning final regulatory approvals.Bombardier is also due to announce quarterly earnings and hold its annual
general meeting on Thursday.In an effort to reassure Quebec's roughly 2,000 CSeries workers, Balducchi reiterated the partnership would
remain headquartered in the Montreal area and that the 110-to-130-seat jet would continue to be built there for global customers.A separate
facility in Alabama, alongside an existing Airbus plant, will be used for deliveries to U.S
buyers.In other appointments, Airbus troubleshooter David Dufrenois was named head of CSeries sales with the task of winning over more
airlines to the plane, which Airbus once saw as a threat to its smallest models but which it now regards as complementary.The Airbus sales
executive led a team focused on stabilizing sales of the A380 superjumbo and handled key accounts such as Qatar Airways, one of the
industry's most demanding buyers.Rob Dewar, a Bombardier vice president seen by many as instrumental to the CSeries, will oversee support
and engineering, according to one of the memos.The CSeries deal leaves Quebec's flagship industrial group with an aerospace business focused
on regional jets and turboprops, as well as business jets and trains.In one memo, Bombardier CEO Alain Bellemare said Commercial Aircraft
President Fred Cromer - one of a number of former leasing executives originally hired to keep the CSeries afloat - will continue to lead its
regional aircraft business.© Thomson Reuters 2018(This story has not been edited by staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
