Gulf Air still to be region's C-Series launch customer as order re-emerges

The two companies were expected to confirm the deal at the Bahrain Air Show in January 2012 but the planned event failed to materialise and the Bahrain airline began a restructuring of the fleet and the organisation.
But today Bombardier Aerospace and Gulf Air publicly disclosed today that a previous unidentified firm order for 10 CS100 aircraft, with options for an additional six aircraft was from Gulf Air and still very much a live prospect.
The firm order was announced by Bombardier on June 20, 2011 with the CSeries aircraft selected following a detailed and thorough evaluation, including other competing aircraft, conducted by Gulf Air in accordance with the Bahrain Tender Board rules.
The two companies confirmed today that they were working together to ensure that the CSeries aircraft meets the goals of the airline's ongoing restructuring, “in line with its mandate to achieve long-term sustainability.”
Raphael Haddad, Bombardier's regional vice president for Middle East and Africa said:" Gulf Air has a rich 60-year old history and as a pioneering and well-established operator in the Middle East, we are pleased to be working with them to ensure the CSeries aircraft meets the goals of Gulf Air’s on-going restructuring and is in line with the operator’s mandate to achieve long-term sustainability. Gulf Air demonstrates what we’ve been saying all along, that the flexibility of this game-changing aircraft and the missions it can perform is one of the many reasons why operators are choosing the CSeries aircraft for their fleet solutions. We are very pleased by our partnership with Gulf Air and by being our first CSeries customer in the Middle East."
Mike Arcamone, president, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft who, like Raphael was attending the IATA annual general meeting in Cape Town when the disclosure of the contract broke, said. "Over the past four years, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft has tripled its aircraft representation in the Middle East and Africa, and altogether, more than 200 Q-Series turboprops, CRJ Series regional jets and CSeries aircraft are in service with, or have been ordered by, operators in the Middle East and Africa,"
"More than 2,600 Q-Series and CRJ Series commercial aircraft have been delivered to operators around the world, covering all continents and operating in diverse and often challenging terrains."