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Bombardier's C Series passenger jetThe Canadian Press

Bombardier Inc. is under growing pressure to make its mark against giants Airbus SAS and Boeing Co. , as the battle for customers of the new generation of fuel-efficient, cost-saving aircraft heats up.

Airbus confirmed on Wednesday that it plans to boost monthly production of its single-aisle A320 jets to 42 by the fourth quarter of 2012, up from the current 36 units.

Bombardier has a lot riding on its new C Series single-aisle jet that will move it into territory occupied by Airbus' A320 family and Boeing Co.'s 737 series.

The $3.4-billion C Series program is aimed at grabbing a big chunk of what is expected to be a thriving market over the next 20 years: fuel-efficient, narrow-body, long-range jets in the 100 to 149 seat range.

But Montreal-based Bombardier faces a challenge breaking into the Airbus-Boeing duopoly in the narrow-body market.

So far, Bombardier has lined up only three customers, for a total of 90 firm orders and options on another 90. It has not booked any new orders since February, 2010 and industry expectations are high for it to announce more orders at next month's Paris Air Show.

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft president Gary Scott and other Bombardier executives have repeatedly said they expect more C Series order announcements over the course of this year.

In an interview from Geneva on Wednesday, Mr. Scott said the C Series project won't suffer any fallout from Airbus SAS's decision to boost production of its popular A320 family of planes.

Airbus' ramping up of A320 production - models in the 100 to 200 seat segment - is likely driven by demand for aircraft above 150 seats, slightly larger than C Series offerings and therefore not a direct threat, he said.

Mr. Scott also said he's confident the C Series will be successful hitting the "sweet spot" for airlines seeking more fuel-efficient jets that offer significant cost savings.

Bombardier says the C Series will provide 20 per cent better fuel economy than existing planes, while Airbus says new engines on its revamped A320 models will provide 15 per cent savings.

"Oil prices are going to be higher. That's good for our products, for the C Series especially," said Mr. Scott.

Industry analyst Richard Aboulafia, a vice-president at consulting firm Teal Group Corp., in Fairfax, Va., said Bombardier needs to push more aggressively to win over converts to its C Series, even if it means under-pricing the competition, something Bombardier has said it won't do.

"This isn't an easy battle. They've got to win some big-ticket customers that establishes them as in the market," he said, adding he wouldn't be surprised to see Airbus unveil a bevy of new orders at the Paris show.

But Cameron Doerksen, an aerospace analyst with National Bank Financial, said he doesn't see Airbus' move to raise production as a direct threat to Bombardier.

"I don't think that a higher production rate is any kind of sign that they're becoming more aggressive. They've got a big backlog to clear," he said.

Airbus spokeswoman Marcella Muratore said a key advantage Airbus has over Bombardier is so-called "commonality" - a large family of airplanes that offers operating, maintenance and pilot-training savings because they share common features and components.

The first C Series planes are planned for delivery in late 2013. Airbus has advanced the delivery dates for the first fuel-efficient versions of its A320 aircraft to October, 2015 from the initial date of mid-2016.

Meanwhile, Boeing has said it will probably unveil a decision this summer on whether to offer all-new engines on its 737 series or a completely new airplane.

Mr. Scott said on Wednesday that the long-term outlook for both commercial and business jets is robust but that commercial airlines are putting off their spending plans for new jets in a climate of global economic uncertainty, such that 2011 risks being slow.

The business-jet market has turned the corner but "on the commercial side we're still turning the corner," he said.

"The economy needs to continue in the right direction. Airlines need to continue rebuilding their balance sheets for order activity to pick up," he said.

The key factors affecting airlines' buying decisions are the rise in the price of oil, the fallout from the disaster in Japan, political upheaval in the Middle East and signs of a stalled economic recovery in the U.S., he said.

Bombardier said Wednesday in its annual 20-year aircraft market outlook it expects the aerospace industry to deliver 24,000 business jets in the segments in which it competes, down from the 26,000 it forecast last year. Total value of sales is $626-billion (U.S.).

On the commercial aircraft side, it anticipates 13,100 deliveries in the 20-to-149-seat market, 300 more than forecast last year, for a total value of $639-billion.

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