page 53 Bombardier Inc. Annual Report 2003-04 415 aircraft was suspended until such time as the orderbook warrants its resumption. As at January 31, 2004, there was no backlog for this aircraft.  the 70-seat regional jet market segment will continue to be fierce between Embraer and Bombardier Aerospace. Although Embraer’s 170 family of aircraft competes with the Bombardier CRJ700 and the CRJ900 aircraft, Bombardier Aerospace believes that its aircraft have significant competitive advantages,  with an earlier entry into service, and family commonality benefits across the 40- to 86- seat CRJ Series family. Also, the Bombardier CRJ700 aircraft has already been selected by seven out of the top 10 largest airlines in the world, as well as several low-fare carriers. Bombardier Aerospace offers, through joint  ventures, a complete range of pilot and main- tenance training programs for the Bombardier CRJ Series aircraft in Montréal, Canada; in Qingdao, China; and in Berlin, Germany. Bombardier Aerospace provides a broad range of services to customers, including training for pilots and maintenance technicians, aircraft maintenance and sales of spare parts.  Bombardier Aerospace expects demand for the larger Bombardier CRJ700, CRJ900 and Q400 aircraft to increase as the trend towards larger regional aircraft continues. Improved seat-mile cost is a necessary response to  the continuing difficult environment in the  airline industry. The availability of aircraft financing is a major challenge faced by the aerospace industry, as the financial position of major airlines in North America remains weak. However, some of the major airlines have already emerged or are expected to emerge from bankruptcy protec- tion in the first half of fiscal year 2005. Regional jets play an important role in the restructuring plans of these airlines. In addition, regional air- lines recorded another solid year of growth compared to the major airlines. According to Airline Monitor , U.S. regional airlines posted a strong year-over-year percentage increase of 28% in revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in calendar year 2003, a measure of paying passenger traffic. For the same period, the year-over-year percentage RPMs for the major airlines decreased by 2.4%. U.S. regional airlines also posted a strong year-over-year increase of 22% in available seat miles (ASMs), a measure of available passenger capacity, compared to a 4.8% decrease for major air- lines during the same period. Bombardier Aerospace currently has a  portfolio of two mature families of regional  aircraft in service with a number of the world’s top airlines. Over the past two years, the Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft has dominated  the 50-seat regional jet market. Competition for Bombardier Aerospace markets the  Bombardier$^{*}$415$^{*}$turboprop amphibious aircraft, a purpose-built firefighting aircraft. The aircraft can also be adapted to a variety of specialized missions, such as search and rescue, environ- mental protection, coastal patrol and transport. Certification for the multipurpose Bombardier 415MP was obtained in March 2004. Bombardier Aerospace delivered three Bombardier 415 aircraft in fiscal year 2004, compared to one in fiscal year 2003. The  firefighting aircraft market depends mainly  on governmental procurement cycles. In September 2001, production of the Bombardier In addition, Bombardier Aerospace provides maintenance and support services for military pilot training. The NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) program is in full operation with Canada, Denmark, the U.K., the Republic of Singapore, Italy, and Hungary as participating nations.  Bombardier Aerospace is the only business jet manufacturer to directly provide cus- tomized pilot and maintenance training, as  well as ancillary training. The training centres are located in Montréal, Canada and at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in  Dallas, United States. On December 9, 2003, the FAA and TC approved technical and pilot  training courses for the new super-midsize Bombardier Challenger 300 business jet. Bombardier Aerospace continues to be well positioned with its family of Q-Series new-gen- eration quiet turboprop aircraft. The Bombardier Q-Series has unique performance capabilities, particularly from short and difficult runways. Bombardier Aerospace is confident that there is ongoing demand for new turboprops due to their low operating costs in short-haul markets. Customer training Amphibious aircraft Market and prospects Aviation support and services