Bombardier eyes lift after completing first CS300 flight
MIRABEL, Quebec -- Bombardier celebrated the maiden flight of its new CSeries 300 jet on Friday under clear but frigid skies outside Montreal. The flight was originally set for Thursday, but was delayed a day as frigid winter weather gripped the region.
The successful flight is a key milestone for Bombardier, which is banking on the CS300 to pull the CSeries program into smoother skies after several turbulent years.
A stretch version of the original CS100, the CS300 is intended to seat 130-160 passengers. That would make it the largest airliner that the Canadian company offers.
"We are reaching an inflection point where finally we are getting momentum and soon we'll be able to go to market," Bombardier CEO Alain Bellemare said after the flight at the company's factory outside Montreal.
The program marks Bombardier's first foray beyond its roots as a maker of small to midsize jets and turboprops design for "regional" routes. Traditionally Bombardier has mostly competed against Embraer, a Brazilian-based aircraft maker that also has traditionally focused on the regional market.
However, the move to bigger aircraft draws Bombardier into competition against a formidable set of competitors.
The size of the larger CS300 makes it a direct competitor to some versions of Boeing's 737 and Airbus' A319 narrow-body jets. That could be a dicey proposition for Bombardier given the long-established dominance in that market by Airbus and Boeing.
Bombardier's original CSeries aircraft -- the CS100 -- made its first flight in September 2013, already two years behind schedule. Its troubles continued not long after when unspecified problems -- and then an uncontained engine failure in May -- left the test fleet spending more time on the ground than in the air.
Bombardier's costs for the CSeries have soared as the delays have mounted. The program is thought to be billions of dollars over budget.
The CS100 was initially slated to be delivered to a so-far-undisclosed launch customer in late 2014. But the company now forecasts first delivery to come sometime in the second half of 2015. Assuming that schedule holds, the CS300 is expected to follow six months later.
Still, Bombardier believes its CSeries testing has finally rounded the bend, saying it has pushed through the most difficult phase. Indeed, since coming back online in early September, flight hours for CSeries aircraft have increased at a steady pace.
Even if the program is back on track, Bombardier still faces a sales challenge for its CSeries planes. Orders have reduced to a trickle the last two years. Industry observers are watching to see if the company can secure additional customers amid skepticism about delivery projections. Also a concern: Airbus and Boeing continue to both aggressively and successfully sell competing aircraft.
Underscoring that trouble, confidence among potential airline customers is thought to have wavered because of the long delays and from a series of high-profile management shake-ups .
For now, Friday's first flight of the CS300 gives Bombardier a welcome light at the end of the tunnel, even if it's unknown just how much longer that tunnel will turn out to be.
Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren is a Seattle-based photojournalist and aviation writer and a contributor to Ben Mutzabaugh's Today in the Sky blog. You also can follow Jeremy on Twitter at @photoJDL.