The Bombardier CSeries is a family of narrow-body, twin-engine, medium-range jet airliners being developed by Canadian manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace. Models are the 110-seat CS100, and the 130-seat CS300. These were initially named C110 and C130, respectively.
The first flight was initially planned for the second half of 2012. In March 2012 Bombardier declared that the first flight is now confirmed for December 2012[3] and reaffirmed it in June.[4] In June 2012, first delivery remains scheduled for the end of 2013.
Bombardier Aerospace says an unnamed “major network carrier” that has ordered the first CSeries planes the company makes will eventually help convince others to buy the new aircraft.
“I expect that sometime in the next year they’ll reveal themselves and that’s ample time to help us in having them join in our marketing campaigns,” Gary Scott, president of Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, said in an interview from Paris.
The airline has agreed to buy 10 CSeries aircraft in a deal valued at $616 million.
It becomes the sixth customer for the 110- to 149-seat aircraft and will be the first to receive the plane when deliveries start at the end of 2013.
The value of the order could rise to about US$1 billion if the airline exercises six options for the CS100, the smaller of the two CSeries variants.
Bombardier hopes to ramp up production to about one aircraft per day. The pace will depend on the number of orders. The larger plane is scheduled to enter into service the end of 2014. No launch operator has yet been determined.
Scott said Bombardier (TSX:BBD.B) would prefer to name the latest buyer but the carrier asked to remain anonymous for now for competitive reasons.
The deal was announced on the first day of the Paris Air Show and ensures Bombardier won’t strike out for a second year in winning CSeries orders at the marquee air show of the year.
Scott said the third CSeries announcement in less than a month is “testament to the growing appeal and momentum for CSeries aircraft” and helps to quell some pressure about the program.
The orders also ended a 15-month drought from the last of the previous orders placed for the fuel-saving plane. Bombardier has received 113 orders for the CSeries — 51 CS100 and 62 CS300 aircraft, and 109 options.
About Bombardier:
Bombardier is the world’s only manufacturer of both planes and trains. Looking far ahead while delivering now, Bombardier is evolving mobility worldwide and making it easier for people to connect with one another.
However people choose to travel, they’ll find a Bombardier product ready to transport them. Our vast offering of products includes high speed trains, public transit that’s smarter than ever, category-defining business jets and commercial aircraft designed for the realities of today.
Bombardier answers the call for more efficient, sustainable and enjoyable transportation everywhere. Our vehicles, services and, most of all, our employees are what make us a global leader in transportation. We partner with customers, local organizations and all stakeholders to help build communities and improve quality of life wherever we do business.
Bombardier is present in more than 60 countries, with 76 production and engineering sites among them. Our 70,000 employees push mobility forward by creating aerospace and rail transportation products adapted for the travellers of today and tomorrow.
Bombardier is headquartered in Montréal, Canada. Our shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD), and we are listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America indexes. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, we posted revenues of $18.3 billion USD.
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has put out an off of $1 billion in assistance for anyone who sets up shop in Buffalo that generates long term employment and further opportunities. Buffalo is also only 100 miles from its Downsview Ontario manufacturing facility, its downtown Toronto engineering staff and a one hour flight away from Bombardier’s corporate headquarters in Montreal, PQ Canada.
I would hope that someone from Buffalo-Niagara Enterprise, Buffalo Chamber of Commerce, Western New York Business Development Fund, Empire State Development Corporation, and others are speaking with Bombardier to bring some aspect of this new CSeries passenger aircraft project to the area.