Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Bombardier Delivers First CS300 Airliner to Air Baltic

Bombardier celebrated the delivery of the first CS300 narrow-body to Latvian flag carrier Air Baltic during a ceremony held in Montreal on Monday. The larger of the two C Series models developed by Bombardier, the CS300 will enter service on December 14 on a route between Riga and Amsterdam, according to Air Baltic’s schedules. The handover of the 130- to 150-seat jet comes five months after the smaller CS100 entered service with Swiss International Airlines.

Last month the CS300 finished a series of route-proving flights in Europe and the Middle East alongside Air Baltic in preparation for its entry into service. The single-aisle jet received European certification on October 7 and Bombardier expects it to gain U.S. approval by the end of the year.

On November 23 Transport Canada and the European Aviation Safety Agency granted the CS100 and CS300 Same Type Rating (STR) status. According to the manufacturer, the approval will save operators “significant” costs and reflects the 99 percent parts commonality that the two aircraft share. Bombardier designed the two versions of the CSeries in tandem, making only the center section of CS300 longer than that of the CS100.

So far three CS100s have entered service—all with Swiss International Airlines—and have logged 1,100 hours of trouble-free revenue flights, Bombardier CEO Alain Bellemare said during the company's recent third-quarter earnings call. Mechanics performed the first A-check on a CS100 earlier this month “with no issue or findings.” The process took less than five hours, “well below the current industry standards,” he noted.

Backlog for the CSeries at the conclusion of the third quarter stood at firm orders for 356 (121 CS100s and 235 CS300s) and options for 232 (99 CS100s and 133 CS300s).

(Gregory Polek - AINOnline News)

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