Bombardier’s CSeries

Launched at July’s Farnborough Airshow and due to enter service in 2013, the CSeries is certainly an impressive aircraft on paper, offering between 110 and 130 seats in two size variants, a baseline range of 2200nm (4750km), and between 15 and 20 per cent fuel savings compared to current narrowbodies, thanks to an advanced airframe and its Pratt & Whitney PurePower 1000G geared turbofan engine.

“It’s definitely designed to be a game changer,” Bombardier’s director of marketing for the CSeries, Ben Boehm, told Australian Aviation. “If you compare it to in-production airplanes [from Boeing, Airbus and Embraer], the CSeries has as a minimum a 20 per cent better fuel burn than any of those airplanes. That’s a huge step change.

The last time there was a step change that big is looking back easily 10-20 years in this segment. ” And while the aircraft was officially launched at Farnborough with much fanfare, it’s been a hard road for the CSeries, which has evolved over a number of years, and at one point was close to being cancelled.

The origins of the CSeries can be traced back to 1997, when Bombardier proposed a new design for a 100-seat regional jet, called the BRJ-X, which would fill the product gap between its CRJ regional jet series and the Boeing 737NG and Airbus A320 families.

Unlike the CRJ, which itself was based on the Canadair Challenger business jet, the BRJ was envisioned as a twin engined narrowbody, with under-wing mounted engines and with a wider fuselage.

Despite projecting in 1999 that there was a requirement for 2500 BRJs, Bombardier put the aircraft on “indefinite hold” in 2000, and instead chose to launch a stretched 90-seat CRJ900, which later became the base for the 100-seat CRJ1000.

“It was looking more to straddle the combination of a large regional jet or small mainline jet,” said Boehm of the BRJ. “We realised that it just wasn’t exactly what the market needed at the time. ” While it developed these larger regional jets, Bombardier continued to examine the commercial aircraft market, and by 2004 it identified a gap in the 110-150 seat market.

“We started seeing there was a gap, a product gap; in that products that were in there or were being purported to replace airplanes in there were really shrinks or stretches of existing planes.

They weren’t really built specifically for the market segment,” said Boehm.

Those “shrinks”, the 100-110 seater Airbus A318 and Boeing 737-600, were based around the larger airframes of the A320 and 737-700/800 respectively.

While they offer cockpit, engine and systems commonality with the bigger aircraft, they are generally more expensive to operate on a per-seat basis than their bigger siblings.

At the other end of the market, Embraer introduced the highly popular E-Jet in 1999 and Bombardier itself had been stretching its CRJ regional jet design to carry more passengers.

But, “We’ve known from experience that in order to really get the economic and performance benefits for a specificmarket segment, you have to design for a market segment, you can’t keep stretching or shrinking other airplanes to fit into it. That was the starting point,” Boehm said.

This led the Canadian manufacturer to open discussions with a number of airlines about developing a new mainline aircraft for the 110-149 seat market.

Proof of this requirement was the large number of older generation 100/110- seat aircraft still in service, particularly in North America. With Douglas DC-9s, McDonnell Douglas MD-80s, Fokker 100s and BAe 146s flying at airlines such as Northwest, Delta and American Airlines alongside newer generation A320s and 737s, it seemed apparent that there was need for an aircraft of the same size to replace these older models.

At the 2004 Farnborough Airshow Bombardier announced it would develop a new commercial aircraft called the CSeries, which would offer a 110-135 seat capacity in two variants in a 2+3 seating configuration – a size category above the E-Jet family but competing with the smaller 737 and A320 family models. Most importantly, it would have up to 25 per cent lower operating costs than existing aircraft.

One year later, the company announced that it had received loans from the Canadian, UK and Quebec governments to back the development of the aircraft. It also announced that the CSeries would be assembled at Mirabel, Montreal, with the wings to be made at Bombardier’s Belfast facility.

However, in January 2006 Bombardier announced that it was shelving the CSeries as “market conditions did not justify the launch of the aircraft”, and employees working on the project would be reassigned to its existing regional jet and turboprop aircraft products.

Nevertheless, Bombardier decided to keep a small team on to keep working on the CSeries’ business plan as it still saw potential in the market.

In early 2007 Bombardier announced that it was continuing to refine the business case for the CSeries, driven by “higher customer and supplier interest”.

At the time, the manufacturer stated that if it was launched, the aircraft could enter service in 2013, instead of 2010 as was originally planned in 2004.

“We continue to see the lower end of the 100 to 149-seat market as a segment with solid potential,” Bombardier Aerospace’s chief operating officer, Pierre Beaudoin, said on January 31 2007.

Some of that potential became more apparent during the year, as higher fuel prices drove up interest in the CSeries and its promise of a 15-20 per cent fuel burn improvement on current generation 100-seaters. It also became apparent that Boeing and Airbus had put back their development efforts for a new narrowbody aircraft, thanks in a large part to their bulging order books.

Things stepped up for the CSeries in February this year at the 2008 Singapore Airshow, when International Lease Finance Company chief Steven Udvar-Hazy publicly stated that the lessor was interested in the CSeries, mostly as a result of the major manufacturers’ refusal to develop a new narrowbody aircraft.

Udvar-Hazy, whose company has only bought from Airbus and Boeing for a number of years, even went so far as to say that it could place an order,in association with an airline, to launch the CSeries.

This gave the company a major boost, and gave the Bombardier board enough confidence to grant it ‘authority to offer’ immediately after the airshow on February 22. A formal commitment to produce the aircraft through a launch was expected if the manufacturer could gain orders for 50 or more aircraft. Bombardier announced that it would achieve first flight in 2012, ahead of entry into service in the next year.

At that time Lufthansa, Qatar Airways and ILFC publicly identified their interest in the CSeries, with all three indicating orders would be forthcoming.

Given the strong support for the type at the Singapore Airshow, it was widely tipped that the aircraft would be formally launched at the Farnborough Airshow in July. Days before the airshow, there were a number of rumours that Lufthansa and Qatar would be beaten to the punch by China Southern Airlines which would order 50 CSeries.

While Bombardier did indeed launch the CSeries at Farnborough, it didn’t come with an order from China Southern or Qatar. Curiously, it came with no more than a ‘letter of intent’ from Lufthansa for 30 aircraft and 30 options, far short of the 50-100 firm orders the manufacturer was targeting when it announced the authority to offer.

And even though Lufthansa has yet to firm up its order, Boehm said that Bombardier is not worried.

“Firm orders take time. These are contractually negotiated documents that we aren’t about to rush and our customers don’t want to rush that, so we’re less concerned about that,” Boehm said. “We have a strong pipeline of interest of discussions that are ongoing around the world. ” He also said that an order from ILFC still remains on the cards. “They are investigating this market very seriously and we continue having discussions with them. ” The slow sales for the A318 and 737-600, as well as the demise of other 100-seater aircraft such as the Boeing 717, could point as evidence that there is not a sufficient enough market for the aircraft. But Bombardier remains insistent that there is a major market for the CSeries. And despite the lack of success for the 737-600 and A318 and the 100-seat Boeing 717, the success of Embraer’s 98-seat E-190 and 108-seat E-195 model E-Jets does give some indication of the CSeries’s potential.

“A market potential of over 6000 units over the next 20 years is nothing that an OEM would ever just toss away,” said Boehm. “We’re going to be focused on that type of market, and we’re going to work hard to get a good 50 per cent of that marketshare, as we have in the regional jet market. ”

Features

Bombardier is offering two basic variants of the CSeries to cover the 110-149 seat market.

The 34. 8m long C110 is designed to carry 110 passengers in a standard twoclass layout, or up to 125 in a singleclass high density layout, while the larger 38m long C130 will be able to seat 130 passengers in a standard configuration, or up to 145 in high density seating.

On the interior, the CSeries’ cabin will feature 3+2 seating, a 3. 27m cabin width and a height of 2. 13m. Bombardier is also planning to offer large overhead pivot bins, similar to those on the Boeing 777, which will allow passengers to take more hand luggage on board compared to regional jets.

Compared to some of the larger regional jets serving the same market, the configuration flexibility is a major selling point for the aircraft, according to Boehm. “It’s actually a very flexible interior, hence the interest publicly from ILFC. The leasing companies really see this as a benefit,” he said.

One of the key selling points Boehm notes is the range capability of the CSeries, which is much closer to other mainline jets. The baseline C110 and C130 will both have a range of 2200nm, while Bombardier is also offering extended range versions up to 2950nm (5460km).

At Farnborough, Bombardier took the wraps off a third variant called the C130XT, which will feature a reduced takeoff weight and have better field performance, allowing it to operate from shorter runways.

Boehm explains that the manufacturer decided to offer the XT due to interest from some potential customers.

“Especially in some areas where range is not an issue but perhaps temperature and runway conditions are the issues, we had a number of clients that said, ‘Would you ever offer the shorter range 130 seater but with the same thrust capacity as the long range one?’ That was what prompted us to offer the XT variant. ” Boehm says that the XT will be able to operate from airports with short strips including London City, yet will still have the same range as the baseline C130, which would cover many points in Western Europe. It will also be targeted at operators in regions such as the Middle East where regional jets struggle in the hotter climates.

The CSeries’s fuselage will be made of aluminium lithium, unlike composites being used on the Boeing 787, although it will feature composites in the wing and aft fuselage. Bombardiersays that the choice to use the lightweight alloy was due to the fact that as a narrowbody airliner flying high frequencies, the aircraft would be more prone to possible ground handling accidents.

All variants will be powered by two PW1524Gs, with 21,000lb (93. 4kN) of thrust for the baseline C110 and C130, while the ER models and the XT variant will have 23,300lb (103. 6kN) of thrust.

The difference in thrust will be controlled through the engine software.

Maximum takeoff weights vary across the five models, with the baseline C110 at 54,749kg, the C110ER 57,969kg, the C130 and C130XT at 59,557kg, and the C130ER at 63,095kg.

The aircraft will feature fly by wire controls with sidestick inputs, and will also be CAT IIIA Autoland ready. The cockpit will also feature large LCD screens and an integrated Electronic Flight Bag system.

Working together

As with other recent commercial airliner programs, Bombardier will tap the resources of a number of global suppliers to build the CSeries.

The centre fuselage, wing box and aircraft doors will be built in China by China Aviation Industry Corporation 1 (AVIC 1) subsidiary Shenyang Aircraft Corporation. Shenyang also currently produces the fuselage for Bombardier’s Q400 turboprop.

The composite wings for the CSeries will be designed and built at the former Shorts facility in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a subsidiary of Bombardier. The facility is already the company’s centre of excellence for composites, from where it produces parts for the CRJ series.

The aft fuselage and cockpit sections of the CSeries will be built closer to Bombardier’s home at Saint- Laurent in Canada, while the company announced at Farnborough that after reviewing a number of options, it will complete final assembly of the aircraft in Mirabel, Quebec.

As could be expected, the funding of a new commercial aircraft program such as the CSeries is no cheap affair, with the development costs put at US$2. 6bn (A$3. 1bn), which is being split between Bombardier, risk sharing partners (such as Shenyang), and the repayable loans from the Canadian, Quebec Province and UK governments.

In late August, the loans extended to Bombardier were flagged by US trade officials, who have started investigating them, although Bombardier says it has not violated any WTO regulations by taking the aid offered.

As well as the major suppliers, Bombardier has also identified Rockwell Collins which is supplying the avionics, C&D Zodiac which will supply the interior, Parker Hannifin which is supplying the hydraulics systems, and Liebherr-Aerospace Toulouse SAS which is supplying the environmental control and pressurisation systems.

Boehm said that these suppliers are now entering the Joint Conceptual Definition (JCD) of the program which will see them work together on defining how the various systems will integrate.

For this, Bombardier is bringing a number of engineers from each of the companies in-house, with the JCD likely to be completed by the end of the year.

Gearing up for the future

A key part of Bombardier’s efficiency push has been in the powerplant for the CSeries, which is Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1000G, formerly known as the Geared TurboFan or GTF.

Boehm explained that Bombardier initially sought and received responses for an engine to power the CSeries from GE (which submitted a proposal through its CFM joint venture with Snecma), Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney, before it chose to go with the GTF even though the ambitious engine was still to be validated.

As it was still developing, Bombardier subjected the GTF to some stringent audits of the research behind the geared concept before choosing to take on the engine.

“It was a thoroughly extensive process and while maybe painful at the time, today we stand arm in arm with P&W and we have all the confidence in the world that that engine is the right engine for the future,” said Boehm.

“Quite frankly, we think that engine technology is going to be around for the long run. It is really the best combination of hot and cold section engine development for lowest fuel burn/less environmental [impact] and integration with the aircraft. ” The promised performance of the PW1000G is, to say the least, impressive.

According to P&W, the PW1000G will offer between 12 and 15 per centimprovement in specific fuel consumption compared to similar powerplants.

It will also offer up to a 20 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide and up to 50 per cent reduction in nitrous oxide emissions when installed on the CSeries.

The key difference of the PW1000G compared to most other engines is a reduction gearbox which allows the fan to operate at a different speed to the low-pressure compressor and the turbine, which are also part of a new core. The result, according to P&W, is a double digit reduction in fuel consumption and emissions as well as a lower noise footprint.

While P&W has become an ardent supporter of GTF technology, geared turbofans have long been in service on a raft of business jets from Learjets to the Falcon 900 powered by the Garrett AiResearch/Honeywell TFE731 series, and the BAe 146/ Avro RJ regional jet family which is powered by the geared Lycoming/ Honeywell LF/ALF 500 series.

So while the gearing technology isn’t new, its application in the PW1000G is on a much bigger scale.

At the time of writing, the demonstrator GTF engine had finished its flight testing program with Pratt and Whitney, with the company having confirmed a “double digit” reduction in fuel consumption. As of early September, the engine was being prepared to undergo further testing on an Airbus A340, which will include the acoustics of different engine/nacelle combinations, something which wasn’t possible on P&W’s Boeing 747SP flying testbed.

Although its initial development of the geared turbofan concept has been focused on powering the CSeries and the Mistubishi Regional Jet series, Pratt and Whitney says that geared turbofans will become the baseline for all its future engine developments.

While promoted as a game changing engine, the PurePower is a critical future step for P&W, which has had limited success in the civil aviation arena in recent years. Importantly, P&W could be dealt back into the narrowbody sector, augmenting its participation in the International Aero Engines V2500 used on the A320 Family.

Glorified regional jet, or Boeing and Airbus killer? Given its heritage in regional aircraft, Bombardier’s move to strike at the cash cows of both Airbus and Boeing – albeit at the slower selling, lower end of their narrowbody markets – appears to have created some confusion about where the CSeries sits in the market.

“We promote this as a mainline airplane,” explained Boehm. “We have a very good family of regional jets with the CRJ which takes us really to the limit of where regional jets are flying today. ” With seating options from 110 to 145 seats, the CSeries sits just above the E‑190/E-195 and right in the same market as the A318/319 and 737-600, but with promised greater efficiency. So will Bombardier gradually stretch the CSeries to take it right into the home markets of the A320 and 737-800? Boehm dismisses this outlook.

“We are not targeting to be directly competing with the sweet spot of the Boeing and Airbus families,” he said.

“We are not building a 150 plus seat airplane, which is really the design point of the A320 and 737 families. We’re looking at this more from the lower end of the market where a lot of customers have told us they are looking for some better designs at that point rather than a shrink of a shrink. ” Boehm also sees that much of the appeal of the CSeries will be will be in replacing older generation 100-seater aircraft, rather than the relatively new narrowbody designs currently being offered by Boeing and Airbus. “In our market forecast, we have approximately 50 per cent for replacement, but not necessarily targeted at Airbus A319s or 737-600s, because those airplanes are fairly young. When we do our market forecasts, we’re looking at airplanes that are at the 20 year age bracket,” said Boehm.

In particular, Boehm targets DC-9s, MD-80s, Fokker 100s and BAe 146s/ Arvo RJs as aircraft which could be replaced by the CSeries.

But that’s not all. With its combination of short field performance and range longer than most existing regional- type jets, Boehm sees the potential of the CSeries to open up longer, thin routes as a major part of the marketing mix for the aircraft, as well as capacity growth opportunities for some airlines.

“About 35 per cent of the market projection for us is natural growth,” he said. “The last 15 per cent or so is really focused on new aircraft opportunities that are offered or opened up by the availability of a small, economical mainline airplane. These are the kinds of opportunities where airlines can start some new nonstop services, whereas previously they had a limited amount of service because they had to use a larger airplane. ” Bombardier sees a great potential for this type of operation in the Middle East, where a number of the larger carriers currently serve thinner routes only with limited weekly frequencies. The company also notes that there has been limited regional jet penetration there, which Boehm sees as a major “market seeding” opportunity.

Although most of the public interest in the CSeries has come from legacy airlines, Boehm explained that he also saw significant appeal from a number of low cost carriers, thanks to the efficiency of the aircraft.

“The 110-seat version of the airplane actually has lower seat-mile costs than a 130-seat Boeing or Airbus airplane. So if we can offer them a smaller airplane with lower seat-mile costs that should be very attractive to them. ” Boehm also told Australian Aviation that Bombardier was keen to show Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Blue the CSeries’ capabilities, saying “We’re confident that we stand on a good foot to be very competitive with all of your local carriers in Australia. ”

Defining Point

Both Boeing and Airbus can point to times in their history when the companies have had defining moments where the management took a gamble on a new aircraft type, and indeed made them the companies they are today.

For Bombardier, the launch of the CSeries could be its defining point, changing it from a regional aircraft manufacturer to a wider commercial aircraft company capable of holding its own against Boeing and Airbus, and indeed setting a new benchmark for their next generation of narrowbodies.

In that light, the success of the CSeries is of major strategic importance to the company, although this does not phase Boehm.

“I think we have a good strategic future in front of us and our focus now that the airplane has been launched is development, continued sales successes and a very satisfactory entry into service in 2013,” he said.