CSERIES

First Flight

The first flight of Bombardier’s CSeries on September 16 was a pivotal milestone for an aircraft that has dared to be new against competition that has opted for derivatives, albeit very good derivatives. While there is a raft of all-new regional jets, the market Bombardier is targeting – the bottom end of the 737 and A320 market – is rich with derivatives certainly in the case of the 737. To sell an all-new design into a massively entrenched market is a tough ask, particularly when your competition is Boeing and Airbus and the big two are promising similar fuel savings from essentially proven designs. In fact several potential CSeriescustomers have alluded to ‘seeing is believing’ before signing up, particularly as Bombardier is reportedly not discounting the aircraft. And now arch-rival Embraer has entered the fray with a major makeover – the E2 – of its popular E-Jets. But all those worries were set aside in September when ship one, or FTV1 as Bombardier calls it, took to the air in perfect weather conditions. The flight of the 100-149 seat CSeries – a CS100 bearing the registration marking C-FBCS – was conducted under the command of Captain Charles Ellis, Chief Flight Test Pilot of the Bombardier Flight Test Center. Ellis was assisted by Captain Andris Litavniks and Andreas Hartono in the roles of First Officer and Flight Test

They’ve got to build the customer base. Even if it means sacrificing pricing. steven udvar-hazy

This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.

Login

Become a Member

To continue reading the rest of this article, please login.

Username or Email

Password Forgot password?

Keep me signed in on this device.

If you check this box before you log in, you won’t have to log back into the website next time you return, even if you close your browser and come back later.

If you check the box above before you log in, you won’t have to log back into the website next time you return, even if you close your browser and come back later.

---

or

---

Login with a Passkey

To unlock all Australian Aviation magazine content and again unlimited access to our daily news and features, become a member today!
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.

PRINT

$49.95 for 1 year Become a Member

See benefits

• Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
• Access to In Focus reports every month on our website

MOST POPULAR

PRINT + DIGITAL

$99.95 for 1 year Become a Member

$179.95 for 2 years Become a Member

See benefits

• Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
• Access to the Australian Aviation app
• Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
• Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
• Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
• Daily news updates via our email bulletin

DIGITAL

$5.99 Monthly Become a Member

$59.95 Annual Become a Member

See benefits

• Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
• Access to the Australian Aviation app
• Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
• Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
• Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
• Daily news updates via our email bulletin

View more offers and details

Engineer, respectively. The flight departed from Montréal–Mirabel International Airport at approximately 0955 EDT and returned at approximately 1225 EDT. The usual and predictable platitudes followed: “The performance of the CSeries aircraft was very impressive. We couldn’t have wished for a better maiden flight,” said Captain Ellis. “FTV1’s state-of-the-art flightdeck was responsive and comfortable, and the aircraft handled exactly as expected. Overall, we had a very productive first flight and an excellent start to the flight test program. ”Rob Dewar, vice president and general manager, CSeries program, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft said that “during its maiden flight, CSeries FTV1 reached an altitude of 12,500ft (3,810m) and an air speed of 230kt (426kmh). ”But possibly the most encouraging aspect of the first flight was the quietness of the aircraft. “We’re delighted that many of our guests commented on the impressive and quiet performance during takeoff and landing,” said Dewar. A total of five CS100 flight test vehicles, all of which are currently in various stages of assembly, will join the flight test program in the coming months. The origins of the CSeries can possibly be traced back to the demise of Fokker in the late 1990s when Bombardier looked at acquiring the famous Dutch manufacturer. That move collapsed in February 1996. The first home-grown attempt to enter the 100-seat plus market emerged with the Bombardier BRJX with a 2-3 seating arrangement and under-wing engines. However that project was abandoned in favour of the CRJ900, a stretch of the CRJ700. Complicating matters for Bombardier, Embraer then launched the 72-seat E170 and the 110-seat E190/E195 and grabbed significant marketshare. In July 2004 Bombardier

There is no doubt the CSeries is a major step forward in technology and passenger comfort.

announced the 110-130 seat CSeries for entry into service in 2013 and followed this in March 2005 with more details and an enlarged offering. What emerged were two models – the C110 seating up to 125 and the C130 with capacity for 145. The CSeries would be all-new with a composite wing with a 2-3 seating in economy and 2-2 in business class. Unlike Boeing at the time Bombardier backed off a composite fuselage because the CSeries is a high-cycle aircraft that will be closer to the ground than a widebody and therefore subject potentially to more damage caused by ground support equipment. Subsequently Boeing has also backed off a composite fuselage for its 777X. Bombardier secured loans from the Canadian and British governments as well as the provincial government of Quebec to help with the project that was to cost US$3. 5 billion. The fuselage was to be built by China Aviation Industry Corporation’s subsidiary Shenyang Aircraft Corporation with the wing to be built by Bombardier’s facilities at Belfast, Northern Ireland. Final assembly was to take place at Bombardier’s Mirabel Airport facility. However the market was not sold on the CSeries and on January 31 2006, Bombardier shelved the project. But the company did move forward with the CRJ1000 regional jet. Enter the Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan. In 2007 Bombardier restarted work on the CSeries and announced in November that year that the P&W1000G would be the exclusive powerplant.

The engine develops between 19,000lb and 23,000lb of thrust, have a noise footprint 20dB margin to Chapter IV and burn 20 per cent less fuel than its in-production competitors.

Authorisation to offer quickly followed and at the Farnborough Airshow in 2008 Bombardier was able to announce that blue chip customer Lufthansa had committed to 60. This was later firmed up to 30 orders and 30 options.

In 2009 Bombardier changed the moniker for the models to the CS100 and CS300.

Orders however followed slowly. In March 2009 Lease Corporation International of Dublin ordered three CS100s and 17 CS300s, thus becoming the launch customer of the larger model. In February 2010 Republic Airways ordered up to 40 CS300s with options for another 40. Over the next two years both easyJet and United Airlines were linked to order discussions.

At the 2011 Paris Airshow, Korean Air stepped up to the plate and ordered up to 30 CSeries while Braathens Leasing committed to 20. A month later airBaltic announced plans to order up to 20. And in August 2011 Ilyushin Finance committed to 30 CSeries aircraft.

In November 2012 Bombardier announced a delay of six montsfor both first flight and entry into service of the CS100 due to unspecified issues with suppliers. However, in March this year Bombardier unveiled an almost finished aircraft along with three other recognisable aircraft.

But what has also been recognisable has been the reluctance of many to commit to the design.

In an interview with FlightGlobal’s Jon Ostrower in 2012, Steven Udvar-Hazy, chief executive of Air Lease Corporation said: “Something’s missing. I can’t explain it. We’ve had offers but they’re not attractive compared to Embraer. ” Ostrower summed up saying that Udvar-Hazy believed there’s a disconnect between what the market is willing to pay for the CSeries against what Bombardier believes the aircraft’s capabilities are worth.

“They’ve got to build the customer base. Even if it means sacrificing pricing, because if they don’t, they won’t have a successful program,” Udvar-Hazy said.

In fact at this year’s Paris Airshow International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) chief executive Henri Courpron cited the lack of customers for the CSeries and by contrast the large number of E-Jet operators as the reason for its order for 100 of the E2 versions of the Embraer E190 and E195.

Speaking with media Courpron said of the CSeries: “There is no customer base on which you can build but I hope for Bombardier that they will. ” This situation appears similar in many ways to the marketing of the MD‑80/MD-90 and later the MD95/717.

Disenchanted with margin concessions demanded by giant leasing companies, McDonnell Douglas under CEO Harry Stoneceipher backed off those customers only to find that when new airlines started up they wouldpick 737s or A320s because that is what leasing companies had in their inventories.

Later Stoneceipher sang the “niche market song” on the 717 with low production rate and high price and saw deal after deal disappear along with the aircraft’s production life.

Residual value due to limited sales – thus far – is a major issue and it may well be a stumbling block for the CSeries.

And stumbling blocks is perhaps the best way to describe Qatar Airways off-again, on-again love affair with the CSeries.

Qatar Airways’ no-nonsense chief executive Akbar Al Baker started negotiations with Bombardier over five years ago, but no deal has been struck. First it was price and guarantees on the engine but more latterly it has been a “we will see” [it fly] attitude.

“We want to see what are the problems, what are the outstanding performance that was promised during the time that we negotiated with them,” Al Baker said in a Paris Airshow interview with FlightGlobal. “Once this is resolved and the aircraft is well in its flight test, we will then look into it. ” According to FlightGlobal’s Stephen Trimble, “Bombardier acknowledges that Al Baker is not alone. The CSeries program makes big promises, including a 15 per cent cash operating cost advantage over Airbus and Boeing rivals. Some potential buyers want to see how the CSeries – which introduces such advances for a narrowbody airframe as a composite wing, fly-by-wire flight controls and a geared turbofan engine – performs before they believe. ” And for the Bombardier sales team the flight test data will be a welcome backup for their paper promises.

But balancing that hard flight data is the hard reality of an awesome competitor in Embraer, with its much lower risk E2 makeover of its popular E-Jet. The largest of the E2 family – the E195 E2 – will have up to 144 seats in a high-density configuration.

The emergence of the E2s is forecast to tip the regional jet duopoly “alarmingly in favour of Embraer at the expense of Bombardier” according to one Canadian analyst. Derek Spronck of RBC Capital Markets suggests Embraer can lift its current 54 per cent share to 63 per cent in the next three years.

“Embraer has developed successful aircraft platforms with the introduction of new technology while focusing on lowered acquisition prices from the reductionin direct operating costs and improved product reliability, similar to Toyota’s successful push in the automotive industry in the 1950s. In addition, Embraer offers customers comprehensive aircraft and global after-sales support for parts, services, and technical assistance,” Spronck said.

He also noted that “since 2004, Embraer has steadily eroded Bombardier’s marketshare dominance in the regional jet space, reaching a 76 per cent market [sales] share in the year 2012. ” Away from the criticisms, analysis and forecasts there is no doubt the CSeries is a major step forward in technology and passenger comfort.

From a structural aspect the CSeries aircraft contain 70 per cent advanced materials comprising 46 per cent composite materials (the wing) and 24 per cent aluminum-lithium.

The cabin of the CSeries is a major step forward. Regional passengers are sure to embrace the larger windows which are 28cmx41cm and positioned high up on the sidewall for optimum viewing.

The CSeries also has far greater overhead bin space with Bombardier claiming that compared to current narrowbody aircraft, the aircraft gives the highest overhead bin volume per passenger with 18 more carry-on bags. And it also has a wider aisle for faster passenger boarding. And by virtue of its crosssection the 2-3 configure gives the greatest seat width, shoulder and foot space per passenger, Bombardier claims. (But let’s see some airline accountant prove it wrong!) There is a host of firsts for the CSeries and one that underscores Bombardier’s commitment to excellence is the Design for Environment Department for the CSeries program headed by Algerian-born chemical engineer Kahina Oudjehani.

The department was set up in 2006 at Bombardier to develop a complete lifecycle analysis for the CSeries, with the goal of publishing an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for every new aircraft upon entry into service.

This pioneering effort had a clear mission to identify and analyse all the CSeries components, map the environmental impact of the aircraft’s lifecycle and work towards minimising it. In order to achieve this goal, Oudjehani met with all suppliers to get them onboard the ambitious project.

One by one, she convinced each supplier to produce detailed reports about the manufacturing process of their corresponding pieces: from the raw materials used to the industrial waste generated, and from the energy down to the water used in each of the CSeries component’s manufacturing.

Bombardier says the Design for Environment team’s work has had enormous impact on the CSeries’ lifecycle, reducing the overall environmental impact of the aircraft, and producing a complete and accurate picture of the environmental footprint.

There is little doubt that the CSeries is a quantum leapt forward for the airlines and their passengers, but perhaps Bombardier needs to listen more carefully to the industry guru on successful aircraft, Steven Udvar-Hazy, on pricing to gain a few more blue chip customers that will lead to the big leasing companies coming onboard.