Bombardier Inc. has secured a long-term lease from the Greater Toronto Airports Authority for space to build its flagship business jet at Pearson airport, as the plane-and-train maker continues its shift toward private planes. The high-tech, $350-million plant would take over final assembly of Bombardier’s Global business jet series, which is currently assembled about 20 kilometres away at the company’s Downsview facility. Bombardier says the one-million-square-foot factory will house thousands of employees who carry out highly skilled tasks such as attaching the wings to the fuselage. Despite signs of economic turbulence on the horizon, business jet deliveries rose by more than 15 per cent to 515 worldwide in the first nine months of 2019, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. Bombardier also sold the property the Downsview plant sits on to the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, though it has a lease on the land until 2021, with a two-year extension option.

Source: thestar December 04, 2019 15:00 UTC