On October 19, Bombardier filed a lawsuit against Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, alleging that Mitsubishi Aircraft hired employees from Bombardier to acquire trade secrets. Mitsubishi has spoken out, denying the allegations.

Bombardier’s lawsuit alleges that several former employees stole sensitive CSeries certification documents before moving to new jobs on the Mitsubishi Aircraft MRJ programme.

The action is against the former employees, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation America and AeroTEC, which assists with MRJ flight testing.

The CSeries was rebranded as the A220 after Airbus acquired the programme’s majority ownership in July.

Mitsubishi hits back

Mitsubishi says: “We strongly reject this lawsuit and find their allegations and assertions without merit.”

“The Mitsubishi Regional Jet programme is developing aircraft that will set new standards for performance, airline profitability, and traveller comfort. These newer, more advanced aircraft are set to replace the previous generation of <100 seat aircraft based on their double-digit fuel savings, best in class passenger comfort and Japanese quality.

“As a result, we see these proceedings as a recognition of our competitive product and this lawsuit primarily as an attempt by Bombardier to stifle global competition.

“We will strongly defend our position in this case.”

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