Bombardier Aerospace Turns the Skies Green

Around the world, there are a variety of business and corporations that work towards the development of greener, more environmentally friendly transportation technologies. One such company is Bombardier, a leader in both the aerospace and transportation industries with an eye for efficiency. I had a chance to connect with Bombardier recently and asked a few questions about the two divisions within Bombardier that work within the transportation industry: Bombardier Aerospace and Bombardier Transportation. Today, I intend to share some information about the Aerospace side of the business over at Bombardier, and then later today I'll share some information about the Transportation section and what they are all about.

Bombardier Aerospace is based in Montreal, Canada and serves as the main front for Bombardier's efforts to create more environmentally friendly aircraft. The company currently has customers located in over 100 countries that range from civil owners, corporations, and high net worth individuals to aviation services, airlines like US Airways, and companies with commercial aircraft needs. According to Bombardier, "every three seconds, a Bombardier aircraft takes off or lands around the globe."  The Bombardier fleet also consists of 3,816 business jets, 2,501 regional jets and turboprops, and 152 amphibious aircraft as of August 31, 2010.

While the figures behind Bombardier's business and aircraft fleet are impressive, how they go about creating a greener, more efficient aircraft is even more interesting. According to Michel Gagnon, the public affairs advisor, and his team over at Bombardier, each existing aircraft Bombardier improvement is carefully examined to ensure that each piece of technology installed on board works together to reduce any harmful effects the aircraft has on the environment. While doing so, the focus is not only on the emissions released by the aircraft, but also noise pollution and the eventual need to recycle the parts from the aircraft once it is retired at some point in the future.

The production process is also important for Bombardier Aerospace. According to the company, every production center that handles a part of the aircraft's construction, as well as any suppliers, are streamlined to ensure the maximum efficiency and asked to follow specific guidelines to ensure the least environmental impact possible throughout the entire process. Bombardier believes that it is critical for aircraft to remain environmentally friendly all the way from the production floor to the skies.

Although Bombardier Aerospace currently operates a wide variety of aircraft models, they have in the works several major projects that they believe will achieve a high level of success in the coming years. One such project is the 100-149 seat CSeries Aircraft, which are expected to enter service sometime in 2013,  and will feature a variety of technological changes that have seen great results. According to Bombardier, the CSeries is expected to offer twenty percent less fuel burn and a twenty percent carbon emissions reduction compared to current in-production aircraft in the same category over 500 nautical miles. It will also produce fifty percent less NO_x and be four times quieter than any other aircraft currently in production in its category.

Bombardier also has interest in the development of a viable biofuel for aviation uses and is currently working with other corporations in Canada on reaching that goal. Bombardier is expected to participate in the flight of a Porter Airlines Q400 aircraft that will be using a biofuel based on camelina sometime 2012.

With two brand new, environmentally conscious plants being built to aid in the CSeries aircraft's production and their current work in the aerospace industry as a whole, Bombardier is making great strides in the global effort to turn the aviation industry green.

For a look at some of Bombardier's methods and business practices, check out Brian Kahn's article about Bombardier.

Photo Credit: Shane Halloran