Bombardier cements Q400 deal with South Africa's Cem Air

At an event in Johannesburg last night, Bombardier confirmed this orderfollowed a letter of intent signed at the Paris Airshow, earlier this year and is valued at $66million at list price.

"CemAir has enjoyed significant growth in the last few years and this has come from our focused approach on selecting the right aircraft for our operation", said Miles van der Molen, the airline’s CEO. "The Q400 is a fantastic performer especially in our environment of high altitudes and hot operating temperatures. It is really an unbeatable turboprop that brings so many jet-like features to ensure a competitive and operational advantage in our market. We see the Q400 as the ideal growth solution for our scheduled and charter operations as we continue to strengthen our relationship with Bombardier. We are working to expand our scheduled operations beyond South Africa and continuing to support new opportunities across the continent."

With these Q400 aircraft, CemAir sees an increase its current fleet of Bombardier aircraft to 17 - including five Q Series turboprops and 12 CRJ Series aircraft. CemAir recently added a used CRJ900 aircraft to its fleet, the first in South Africa.

The company has operating and leasing experience throughout Africa and the Middle East, including Afghanistan, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Kenya, Mali, Gabon, Ghana, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Sudan, Zambia, as well as South Africa.

Speaking at the event, Bombardier’s Jean-Paul Boutibou, vice president, sales, Middle-East and Africa said: "The Q400 is the next natural step in the growth of CemAir's fleet as it brings more flexibility to increase the capacity on key routes. The Q400 will open several market opportunities to CemAir on domestic and future regional routes."