Bombardier has recently been pushing to overcome the barriers to entry of the commercial aircraft industry. Unfortunately, the company has run into a couple of major issues during the flight testing stages. This is a serious setback to Bombardier. If they want to gain entry into the commercial aircraft industry with their new “C” class jet, and gain clients like United Airlines, Bombardier is going to have to either reposition its manufacturing competition, or differentiate their aircraft somehow.
Since the former is nearly impossible with the recent downfalls of the company’s on-ground engine fire in the plane, and worried investors, they are in no position to pursue this strategy. However, if they can differentiate their product in some way, such as offering t.v.’s for passengers, something United Airlines has been implementing in their planes as of late. Another suggestion is to introduce a design in the plane so that the stewardesses can push the food carts through the aisles without having to change the position of the cart (some planes have a curve in the aisle between economy and economy plus). Something relatively minuscule that could potentially differentiate the product, the better the chance that Bombardier will have to gain entry into the commercial airline industry.
Read more about Bombardier in the Globe and Mail here.