Bombardier Delivers First C-Series Jet

After years of anticipation and challenges, Bombardier delivered its first C Series commercial jet yesterday. In a ceremony at the company’s facility in Mirabel, Canada, in the outskirts of Montreal, Swiss International Air Lines accepted the first CS100, which is expected to go into service by mid-July and will gradually replace the airline’s fleet of Avro RJ100s. Swiss’ first commercial flight in the new airplane is scheduled for July 15 from Zurich, Switzerland, to Paris Charles de Gaulle.

Bombardier had lots to celebrate at the C Series ceremony as the company signed a purchase agreement earlier this week with Air Canada for 75 CS300 jets. The contract involved 45 firm orders, worth $3.8 billion, with options for another 30, bringing the total value to $6.3 billion.

However, the news was not all good this week for Bombardier, which signed a $1 billion deal with the Canadian province of Quebec transferring the assets, liabilities and obligations to a limited liability company. Nearly half, 49.5 percent, of the C Series program is now owned by the government of Quebec while the remainder stays with Bombardier. According to Canadian news outlet CBC News, the C Series program is two years behind schedule and $2 billion over budget.

Bombardier’s C Series includes a family of two airplanes, the CS100 and CS300, designed to carry 100 to 150 passengers.