Since moving to McGill in Montreal from Oxford over 20 years ago, the firm I have followed the most closely is Bombardier. I co-teach a course every year with a former vice president of strategy at Bombardier, co-taught my CEO Insights with a former CEO of Bombardier and have gone to dozens of their industry events, took the first flight with Alain Bellemare in the C-Series and have interviewed Laurent Beaudoin, Pierre Beaudoin and three other of their CEOs for my radio show The CEO Series.
The past few years have been disappointing to many of us inside and outside the firm, one of Canada’s most important and global firms. Yesterday, the newish and current CEO Éric Martel won me over to see Bombardier once again as having a brighter future.
Since aviation faced some serious pandemic-induced turbulence, the players in the industry have been in recovery mode, yet some are entering a new, promising era.
Eric Martel is the president and CEO of Bombardier, one of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers, which will be celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. Appointed in March 2020, he has led the company through challenging times and towards a significant financial turnaround.
"Bombardier is in the strongest financial position it has been in decades," said Martel.
The Canadian manufacturer has been the main driver of the country’s aerospace industry. Counting 5,000 aircraft, it stands as having one of the largest fleets of business jets.
During a conference organized by the Montreal Council of Foreign Relations (MCFR), Martel presented the company’s repositioning, its economic and social impact, and commitment to ESG targets.
Martel began by clarifying the COVID-19 pandemic’s accelerating effect on the luxury jets business as passengers increasingly chose to fly private amid safety and health concerns.
“Everyone wanted to buy an airplane,” he said. “There were no more used airplanes on the market, so this stimulated our growth and improved prices.”
“Our current backlog size is impressive and is even becoming a problem as we often have no more planes available for sale on several models,” added Martel.
A new report by PwC Canada has pointed out Bombardier’s significant contribution to Canadian economic growth.
In 2021, the year in which the company sold its rail division, Bombardier delivered 120 business aircraft, reaching $7.6 billion in revenue and accounting for more than 25% of the market share in the aerospace manufacturing sector.
The report further revealed that Bombardier contributed $5.7 billion to Canada’s GDP and nearly $4 billion in Quebec, as well as over 33,000 full-time jobs for Canadians in 2021. Its total economic contribution from manufacturing activities is expected to reach $25.2 billion in GDP in the next three years.
“In Québec alone in 2021, Bombardier supported direct jobs that represented 20% of all the jobs in the province’s aerospace sector,” declared Martel in a press release. “These positions are high-value, skilled jobs with an average salary that is nearly 70% higher than the average salary in Québec.”
Bombardier recently presented its ESG action plan that positions the well-being of its employees and sustainable development at the heart of its activities.
Amongst their ambitious targets is a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 – in line with the global industry-wide commitment of the Business Aviation Commitment to Climate Change (BACCC).
To continue paving the way towards cleaner skies, Bombardier has also committed to investing over 50% of its research and development funding towards greener aircraft and maximizing the use of sustainable aviation fuel. In fact, Martel stated that 90% of their research budget is dedicated to reducing gas emissions.
The company said to be working towards creating the “plane of the future,” engineered to burn as little fuel as possible through an innovative design that increases the lift of the aircraft while reducing air friction, said Martel. According to him, this could reduce gas emissions anywhere between 17% and 19%.
To ensure compliance with its pledge of transparency, Bombardier published the world's first Environmental Program Declaration for its Global 7500 in 2020 — a first in the business jet industry.
In addition, the company has reported striving to have over 30% of management positions held by women by 2025.
“The most important thing we have is our people,” said Martel. “Our community at Bombardier has had some tough years, and today, things are changing. It is up to us as an employer to ensure that we remain and become an employer of choice because we have the ability to offer exceptional careers.”
Every year, the company provides 1,000 paid internships touching various sectors to annually to inspire and drive future leaders in the aerospace industry.
“We are building the Ferrari of airplanes,” concluded Martel. “We are proud to make our country shine and to represent Quebecers and Canadians.”
Stephanie Ricci contributed to this story.
