Bombardier Aerospace sets up in Dubai Free Zone

Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier Aerospace has set up a Middle East sales operation at the Dubai Airport Freezone, it was announced on Tuesday. The move comes as Bombardier said in January it wants to sign up about 40 customers for its CSeries jets by the time the aircraft enters service at the end of next year. Bombardier now has 138 firm orders for the plane, compared with its target of 300 by the end of 2013. “The freezone’s unique geographical advantage, together with superior facilities and amenities, has made this an ideal location for Bombardier’s new Business Aircraft sales office. This expanded presence in the region supports the increase of our market share in the Middle East and will help us be closer to our clients,” Khader Mattar, regional vice president of sales for the Middle East, India and Africa for Bombardier Business Aircraft, said in a statement. Part of Quebec-based Bombardier Inc and the third largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, Bombardier Aerospace employs more than 30,300 employees worldwide. “Geographic diversity and customer diversity is what’s going to cause this aircraft to be successful as fast as possible in the early years,” Chet Fuller, who leads Bombardier’s commercial sales and marketing group, said at the Bahrain Air Show earlier this year. “Our goal is to move toward 40 customers, which is where the aircraft becomes an asset.”