Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

Bombardier pulled in another strong quarter for orders, reaching a book-to-bill of 1.7:1, but also posted a $377 million loss as the Montreal-headquartered manufacturer continues to manage its financing costs and whittle away at its debt, the company reported Thursday.

 


Bombardier’s revenues jumped 17 percent year-over-year to $1.4 billion with increased deliveries and aftermarket revenues. Deliveries increased by three units in the quarter for a total of 27 aircraft—15 Globals, eight Challengers, and four Learjets. This is up from the two Learjets and 13 Globals shipped a year earlier, but down from the nine Challenger deliveries. &nbsp;For the first nine months of the year, deliveries are up overall by 12 units, to 82.

 


Meanwhile, Bombardier continues to make good on its plans to increase service revenues, jumping from $234 million in third-quarter 2020 to $310 million in the most recent quarter.

 


As for orders, backlog grew to $11.2 billion by the end of the quarter—up $500 million from $10.7 billion reported at the end of 2020. Speaking to analysts on Thursday morning, Bombardier president and CEO Eric Martel, remains encouraged by the market prospects, particularly as it unveiled the latest edition to the Challenger family, the Model 3500, that it showcased at NBAA-BACE this month. “The response to the 3500 was incredible at NBAA and we’ve seen great momentum there,” he said.

 


Martel also noted increases in flying hours are helping to propel the market, including on the services side, and agreed that the pandemic helped “accelerate” it by bringing in new customers. As the pandemic eases, normalizing the market, he said, “We do believe that there will be some leakage, but we do believe that the majority will continue to fly business aircraft.”

 


While Bombardier is seeing order growth, Martel also said that the airframer plans to maintain a cautious approach to increasing production and continues to work to stay ahead of supply chain issues. He noted that the majority of its suppliers come from North America and Europe, which helps with its supply flow, and believes that the company is in good shape for its production in the next year. "The good news is we are largely sold out and have everything we need&nbsp;on dock."&nbsp;

 


Further, Bombardier has deployed staff to various suppliers to increase its visibility&nbsp;into any&nbsp;issues, particularly as Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers continue to face logistics pressures.

 


The OEM remains on track for delivering 120 aircraft this year. Martel said company executives are evaluating next year’s totals and that they are taking into account a number of factors: “Can the supply chain take an increase; what is going to be the impact on pricing; and, do we see that momentum longer-term?&nbsp; We are assessing all of this.”

 


Bombardier continues to work toward strengthening its overall financial footing, clearing out debt maturities through 2024 and building its pro forma liquidity to $1.9 billion. Even so, it is still managing debt costs, which amounted to $423 million in net financing expenses for the quarter, up from the $227 million a year ago. Its financing expenses for the year, however, are down from $821 million for the first three-quarters of 2020 to $586 million this year. &nbsp;

 


Martel attributed this quarter’s financing expense increase to the volatility of bond pricing&nbsp;and debt restructuring that caused Bombardier to reevaluate and recognize certain items for accounting purposes. But he was encouraged by the company’s adjusted EBITDA of $142 million that represented a year-over-year improvement of $58 million, or 69 percent.&nbsp; This, he said, “is a good reflection of our real performance.”

Bombardier Pulls in Strong Orders, but Posts 3Q Loss

Bombardier logged a 1.7:1 book-to-bill in the third-quarter and improved margins and EBITDA, but saw an increase in financing expenses.

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