Bombardier Aerospace welcomes Irish Government decision

The recent decision by the Irish Government to purchase a Bombardier Learjet for ministerial flights has been welcomed by Bombardier.

A spokesperson for Bombardier said: “We warmly welcome the Irish Government’s decision to select the Bombardier Learjet 45 for Ministerial air transport service and to begin contract discussions with the company shortly. This has been a tough contest that has been conducted in a very thorough and competent manner by Irish Government officials.”

The Learjet 45 will replace a 23-year-olf Beechcraft which had served as the ministerial air transport. The Irish Government said that although the price was yet to be fixed, the aircraft was expected to be operational by the end of this year.

Currently there are more than 2,000 Learjets in service with governments and large corporations worldwide.

Offering reliable and cost effective performance, the Bombardier Learjet 45 is the newest in the Learjet series. It has a range that permits non-stop flight from Dublin to cities as far flung as Moscow and Istanbul.

Bombardier claim the jet has the lowest operating costs in its class and it has proven popular in Europe both with governments and charter operators with similar flight requirements.

The Bombardier Learjet 45 was the first completely digitally designed aircraft in the world. The complete fuselage, which represents some 50% of the aircraft’s structure, is designed and manufactured in Belfast and is supplied by companies in Ireland.

“The aircraft therefore provides an opportunity to promote Ireland’s technological expertise to the world, and purchase by the Irish Government would also represent an excellent example of north-south trade,” added the company spokesperson.

(SP)