A Bombardier Inc. Global 7500 business jet
| Photo Credit:
SEONGJOON CHO
India’s efforts to improve
its aviation infrastructure will give Canada’s Bombardier
a long-term chance to boost sales of business jets
there, chief executive officer Eric Martel said on Thursday.
Martel told reporters in Montreal that around 60 Bombardier
jets were operating in India, adding that one challenge the
company faced was the limited infrastructure.
“The good news is that they are spending a lot of money
these days. They’re building a dozen airports as far as I know,
and maybe even more,” Martel said after a lunch organized by the
Montreal Council on Foreign Relations. “The whole infrastructure
(investment) taking place over the next few years will
definitely open doors for growth for us.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is heading to India with the
hopes of boosting trade and improving relations with the world’s
most populous country.
Carney has pledged to diversify trade away from the United
States, even as the country seeks to negotiate the tariff-free
movement of goods with U.S. President Donald Trump’s
administration. Under Trump’s latest tariff regime, planes can
be imported into the United States duty free.
The United States, the world’s largest market for business
aviation, is crucial for Bombardier, which expects to generate
higher revenues and deliver more private jets in 2026.
“It’s a big market for us,” Martel said, adding that
Bombardier also has an important U.S. footprint with 2,800
suppliers in the country and a Kansas-based defense division. “I
do believe that common sense will prevail.”
Published on February 27, 2026