Bombardier Aerospace said the development of its CSeries is making “excellent progress” and the first flight will be done by the end of June. As of December 31, 2012, Bombardier had booked orders and commitments for 382 CSeriesaircraft that include firm orders for 148 CSeries airliners.
“We are very pleased with the progress being made on theCSeries aircraft program and we are excited to open our facility and publicly show the world the advances and key milestones we have achieved as we get ready for first flight,” said Mike Arcamone, president of Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. “We are delighted that Pratt & Whitney recently achieved Transport Canada type certification of its first PurePower Geared Turbofan™ engine, the PW1500G engine that will power the CSeries aircraft, and we are now focusing on three key areas that will lead to our safety-of-flight permit: static airframe testing, building of flight test vehicles and on-the-ground testing.”
The manufacturer has also introduced an extra capacity seating option that will increase capacity to 160 passengers on the CS300 aircraft. airBaltic is one of the customers who has opted for the larger capacity with 148 seats. The extra capacity seating option, which requires the addition of a second pair of over-wing exit doors, will be available both in-production and as a retrofit should customers need that flexibility in the future.
“Our main focus continues to be the development, optimization and marketing of the CSeriesfamily of aircraft in the 100- to 149-seat market segment. The CSeries aircraft is a game-changer in a changing economic environment, and following keen customer interest and market trends, we have enhanced the productivity of the CS300 aircraft further by offering the extra capacity seating option,” Arcamone added. “Specifically adapted for airlines looking at further increasing the productivity of their aircraft, the extra capacity seating option enables the CS300 aircraft to offer the highest seating capacity in its market segment, with the best-in-class seat mile costs and comfort. We are pleased that airBaltic has selected to purchase this new option for its CS300 aircraft.”
Designed for the growing 100- to 149-seat market, the CSeries aircraft family is powered by Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1500G engines. It will offer a 15% cash operating cost advantage and a 20% fuel burn advantage. With the extra capacity seating option, theCS300 aircraft’s productivity further improves, offering airlines an average of 4% additional cash operating cost advantage per seat.
