Bombardier?s Belfast operation will have a significant part to play in the biggest business aircraft order ever won by the Canadian Aerospace giant.
The Montreal-based company, which owns Shorts planemakers in Belfast, on Tuesday confirmed it has signed a deal worth more than ?4.8 billion (7.8 billion US dollars) with private charter firm VistaJet, for up to 142 Global business aircraft.
The contract includes firm orders for 56 of the jets and options on another 86 with the value of the firm order topping ?1.9 billion (3.1 billion US dollars).
Bombardier in Belfast is responsible for the design and manufacture of a range of parts for the Global aircraft family, including the forward fuselages, engine nacelles, horizontal stabilisers and other components.
It is the largest business aircraft sale in Bombardier?s history and will help secure the jobs of around 5,500 people in Belfast who work on a range of Bombardier programmes for regional and business aircraft.
A spokesman for the company said:
?The announcement of this order for up to 142 of Bombardier?s Global business jets is a tremendous endorsement of Bombardier, our employees and the Global aircraft family, and is very much welcome. We in Belfast play a major role in the business jet sector ? an important market which Bombardier leads. This order ? the largest ever business aircraft sale in Bombardier?s history ? will help to sustain jobs and secure our long-term future, in addition to benefiting our local supply chain.?
Work will start shortly and the first order involves 25 Global 5000, 25 Global 6000 and six Global 8000 jets, Deliveries are to start in 2014, Bombardier said.
Steve Ridolfi, president, Bombardier Business Aircraft, said the company was thrilled to have been picked by Vistajet.
?We welcome Vistajet?s ongoing commitment to Global coverage within existing and developing new markets,? he said.
?Our Global aircraft are perfect for Vistajet?s business strategy to deliver the ultimate business jet family to all corners of the world.?
Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster described the deal as a ?welcome boost? for the workforce in Belfast.
She said: ?Bombardier in Northern Ireland plays a major role in the business jet sector, and this multi-million pound contract is a welcome boost for their workforce here. It reflects a confidence in the company and in its staff in Northern Ireland. Bombardier has had a presence in Belfast since 1989 and as our largest private sector employer they are pivotal to the local economy.?
The contract was also welcomed by the union Unite, whose membership includes many of the Bombardier workforce in Belfast.
?This is fantastic news for the committed workforce and manufacturing in Northern Ireland,? said Unite?s Irish Regional Secretary Jimmy Kelly.
He added: ?This historic order is very welcome at this particularly fragile economic time. Unite understands that it will secure the current workforce levels for a number of years.?
The only other order of this magnitude for Bombardier is last June?s commitment from NetJets to buy up to 275 Challenger jets, valued at about ?4.5 billion (7.3 billion US dollars).
Business jet orders have been bouncing back since the slump in the wake of the 2008 economic slowdown.
VistaJet Holding SA, which bills itself as ?the world?s luxury aviation company,? said the order builds on its strategy of providing more wide-cabin, long-range luxury aircraft.
The company said the new Global jets will serve high-growth markets such as Russia, China, the Middle East and Africa.
?This order is the most significant milestone for VistaJet and is a testimony to our successful strategy that focuses on global coverage,? said VistaJet founder and chairman Thomas Flohr.
?Earlier in the year we announced landmark agreements with partners in both China and Russia and, since then, the level of demand we have seen in growth markets around the globe has been unprecedented,? he added.
VistaJet is based in Switzerland but its main office is in London.
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