On Monday morning in Mirabel, just outside of Montreal, the Bombardier CSeries CS100 FTV-1 took to the skies for the first time. Just before 10am local time, the clean-sheet narrowbody started its roll down runway 06, taking off in an incredibly quiet manner.
After five years of design and a few minor delays, the first flight of the CSeries signals the start of some serious potential competition for Airbus and Boeing. The CSeries promises much improved economics over its competitors, and Bombardier hopes to break the duopoly that currently exists. The CS100, which is the variation currently being tested, can be configured to hold up to 125 passengers in a dense configuration, or 110 in a standard configuration. The larger model, the CS300, will be capable of holding 160 passengers in a high density configuration, though though 130-150 is more likely.
CSeries flight path (Credit: Plane Finder)
The CSeries has not yet proved to be a hot selling aircraft, but Bombardier hopes that the orders will start flowing now that the first flight as been completed. There are currently only 63 firm orders for the CS100. Canadian airline Porter currently has a conditional order for 12 CS100’s, but Air Canada has not yet placed an order. Over in Europe, Lufthansa has ordered 30 of the CS100 model for regional airline Swiss European Air Lines, replacing the Avro RJ100. The largest order for the CSeries is currently from Republic Airways Holdings, who ordered 40 of the larger CS300s.
Porter CEO, Robert J. Deluce, noted “it truely is a whisper jet” during a post takeoff interview with Bombardier. Executives from Lufthansa and several lease agencies also remarked about how quiet the CSeries aircraft was while taking off. The CS100 entry into service is planned for about one year from now.
Bombardier’s #CSeries left Mirabel at ~10:54am ET. First flight 1-2.5 hours. Photo: Jon Ostrower via Flickr
