While aviation experienced a “shake-up” over the last year, three manufacturers — Bombardier, Gulfstream, and Dassault — have managed to stay at the forefront of the large-cabin jet category. How are these “big players” performing now?
Airbus recently celebrated the 100th A220 produced for a customer during a ceremony at the aircraft program’s headquarters in Mirabel, Canada.
It's more than half a year since Airbus took control of the Bombardier C Series and renamed it the A220. How has Europe’s mega-airframer handled the transition?
Bombardier’s Atmosphère cabin interior, which will launch on the CRJ series in 2018, was introduced at the airframer’s Aero Perspective media event in Mirabel, Quebec, today. Other announcements included a new 82-seat configuration for the Q400 turboprop and updates on C Series operations.
Regular Airways readers have seen our stories about the Bombardier CSeries first flight, and our tour of the Flight Test Vehicle Final Assembly Facility. The day after the events at Mirabel Airport, Bombardier invited us to their facility in St. Laurent, Quebec, not far from Montreal’s Pierre Elliot Trudeau Airport. We were being treated to a visit at the CSeries Customer Experience Centre. Our hosts were Sam Cherry, Director, Product Strategy; Martin Gignac, Product Manager & Strategy; and Marc Duchesne, Director of Public Affairs and Communications.
This was going to be a great day for AirlineReporter.com's Canadian "Senior Contributor." That would be me! I was flying with a new Canadian airline in a brand new Canadian-built plane, traveling from a major Canadian airport over some stunning Canadian landscape, and visiting the headquarters of one of "Canada's 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures," which happens to be a major Canadian airline.
Bombardier’s CSeries aircraft successfully completed its first flight on Monday, September 16, 2013, landing at Montreal’s Mirabel Airport at 12:22 PM Eastern Time. The landing capped a 2 1/2 hour flight that began at 9:55 AM ET, with the jet taking off effortlessly from Runway 06. Bombardier Chief Test Pilot, Chuck Ellis and First Officer Andy Litavniks were at the controls, assisted by flight engineer Andreas Hartono. The CS100 Flight Test Vehicle 1 (FTV1) was shadowed by Bombardier’s Global 5000 chase plane. It was a cool, fall morning at the airport 25 miles north of Montreal, Quebec, with scattered clouds and brisk winds.
On Wednesday, Porter Airlines President Robert Deluce announced that his airline will be the Canadian launch customer for Bombardier’s next-generation jetliner, the CS100. The conditional order is for 12 CS100s, along with options for an additional 18 aircraft.
