Boeing takes further aim at Bombardier

MONTREAL— Boeing says its trade complaint against Bombardier is designed to prevent the Montrealbased rival from using subsidies to build a larger version of the CSeries plane that would directly compete with its own flagship narrowbody 737 aircraft.

Last week, Boeing filed a document with the U.S. International Trade Commission that sheds new light on the tit-for-tat dispute between the two aerospace manufacturers.

In the 109-page filing, Boeing said Bombardier would be positioned to build a full-fleet of single-aisle planes — repeating a strategy employed by French aerospace company Airbus — if Canadian subsidies to Bombardier are left unaddressed.

Bombardier said in a separate filing that Boeing’s effort to shut down its innovative technology from the market is “misguided.”

The company added that the complaint is tantamount to asking the U.S. International Trade Commission to imagine a hypothetical world in the future.

Bombardier said that its CSeries commercial jet isn’t an imminent threat to Boeing because the first planes won’t be delivered to Delta for another year, Boeing doesn’t sell a comparable product and Boeing’s 737 production is sold out for about eight years with a backlog valued at about $190 billion (U.S.), Bombardier said.

Bombardier also rejected Boeing’s claim that it is suffering present material injury as a result of Delta Air Lines’ CSeries order.

Boeing’s 737 fleet is expected to generate $26 billion in free cash flow over the next four years, but the Chicago-based firm said it would be wrong to assume that it is not vulnerable to the threat subsidies pose.

The dispute has become politically charged, with Ottawa recently announcing that it was reviewing current military procurement projects with Boeing.