Bombardier launches new jetliner







Bombardier, which previously focused on building regional jets and trains, spent $3.5 billion and 10 years to develop the CS100 and its slightly larger sibling, the CS300, which seats up to 160 passengers and is expected to launch in early 2014.


Sales of the CSeries aircraft should generate between $5 billion and $8 billion in annual revenues for the company, as demand for transcontinental jets is forecast to skyrocket, said Beaudoin.

"That's a huge increase for our company when you consider that our annual revenues average $20 billion," he said.









Many airlines are struggling with soaring fuel costs. Bombardier was able to cut fuel consumption by using composite materials instead of aluminium for the wings.

Nico Buchholz, vice president of Lufthansa, who was on hand for the test flight, commented that the CSeries aircraft's range and fuel efficiency are "nicely adapted for the European market."

For Robert Deluze, head of Canada's Porter Airlines, the CS100's quieter Pratt and Whitney engines are key to his airline's future expansion.

Porter currently flies twin turboprop aircraft out of the downtown Toronto island airport, but its plans to expand and use slightly larger aircraft with jet engines has riled nearby waterfront condo dwellers.

He needed to find a quieter jet that wouldn't bother the neighbours and, he said, the CS100 is "clearly a whisper jet."