Bombardier is reportedly in talks to hive off the last of its commercial aircraft business. The CRJ program used to be the bread and butter of the company’s aviation division but it’s now losing money and Bombardier is said to be in talks with Japan’s Mitsubishi for its sale. Mitsubishi has been trying to build its own regional jet for almost 20 years but the program has been stalled by numerous technical setbacks. Buying the CRJ design would put it in business immediately and allow it to continue development of its MRJ in conjunction with the production of the CRJ 900, the 100-seat variant currently in production.
Bombardier has now sold off most of its aviation production. It continues to own the paperwork and build Challenger, Global and Lear business jets and owns a 49 percent stake in the Airbus A220 program, formerly known as CSeries. Last month it consolidated its aviation business under a single company called Bombardier Aviation.