Aircraft
Russians Say Politics at Play in Bombardier Contract Revision
Lessor claims Canada’s export credit agency failed to abide by original agreement
Russian aircraft lessor Ilyushin Finance now holds a firm order for 20 Bombardier CS300s. The restructuring of a 2013 firm purchase agreement saw IFC cut its C Series order from 32 and add an order for a single Q400 twin turboprop. (Photo: Bombardier)
Russian aircraft lessor Ilyushin Finance now holds a firm order for 20 Bombardier CS300s. The restructuring of a 2013 firm purchase agreement saw IFC cut its C Series order from 32 and add an order for a single Q400 twin turboprop. (Photo: Bombardier)

Russia's Ilyushin Finance Company (IFC) claims that a politically-motivated decision by Export Development Canada (EDC) to refuse low-interest financing played a key role in its decision to reduce a significant order for Bombardier's new C Series CS300 airliner. The restructuring of a 2013 firm purchase agreement saw IFC cut its C Series order from 32 to 20 and add an order for a single Q400 twin turboprop.



Acknowledging the order reduction in an August 5 statement on its 2016 financial results, Bombardier had attributed the order revision solely to a need to “align with [IFC’s] current market needs.” However, a Bombardier spokesperson on Tuesday added that “financial conditions” in the region also played a part, and that "the financing challenges [associated with the EDC decision] could speak to those financial conditions.”


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