Business

Bombardier Starts Offering CSeries Airliner

posted: 22 February 2008 2:22 p.m. ET

: Bombardier's board has given Bombardier Aerospace authority to make formal sales proposals to customers for its planned CSeries of small mainline jets. Credit: Bombardier Aerospace
: Bombardier is planning two versions of its CSeries small mainline jet family -- the 110-seat CSeries 110, and the 130-seat CSeries 130. Credit: Bombardier Aerospace

Bombardier's board of directors has authorized Bombardier Aerospace to offer formal sales proposals to airlines for the company's planned CSeries family of small mainline jets.

Authority to offer is an important and late step in the series of events leading to the production launch of any new airliner program. In the CSeries' case, Bombardier Aerospace expects to obtain firm commitments from customers and to make its program launch decision this year, which would allow the aircraft to enter commercial service in 2013.

The CSeries will be offered in two sizes, the 110-seat CSeries 110 and the 130-seat CSeries 130. Both would be powered by Pratt & Whitney's new Geared Turbofan engine, which Mitsubishi has already chosen for the MRJ large regional jet it is developing.

In a conference call with reporters and financial analysts regarding the CSeries decision, Pierre Beaudoin, Bombardier Aerospace's president and chief operating officer, revealed rough list prices (in millions of 2008 U.S. dollars) for the two models.

"For the 110, it'll be in the low 40s," said Beaudoin. "For the 130, it will be in the high 40s."

However, in today's competitive market, customers for commercial jets often negotiate sizeable discounts on list prices, particularly customers whose purchases represent program-launch orders and those companies wanting to order substantial numbers of jets.

Bombardier Aerospace first proposed the CSeries almost a decade ago, but refrained from launching production of the brand-new commercial jet -- which, if built, will be the biggest jet it has produced to date -- in favor of developing the 90-seat CRJ900 and the 100-to-110-seat CRJ1000, as low-risk stretches of its existing CRJ700 70-seat regional jet.

However, the huge success of Embraer's 70-to-110-seat E-Jet family and technological advances such as P&W's Geared Turbofan and the extensive use Boeing is making of composite materials in the 787 Dreamliner widebody have moved the state of the art forward significantly. Technology has advanced to the point where Bombardier now thinks the CSeries can offer airlines significant advantages over in terms of its economics and environmental performance compared with existing similarly sized commercial jets.

Extensive use of new technology

The CSeries will make increased use of composite materials and lightweight aluminum lithium alloy in its structures, and its flight control systems will be fly-by-wire, Beaudoin said in a statement. The aircraft's design will also incorporate fourth-generation aerodynamics.

Its passenger cabin will feature a five-seats-abreast layout. To keep the aircraft as light and fuel-efficient as possible, the CSeries' aft fuselage, empennage (tail section) and wings will be made from composite materials, and the rest of its fuselage from composite and aluminum lithium. The aircraft's fly-by-wire flight deck will have side stick controllers for the pilots rather than the more traditional control yokes, and the aircraft will have electric brakes.

"Together, these advancements will produce up to 20 percent better fuel burn and up to 15 percent improved cash operating costs versus current in-production aircraft of similar size," said Beaudoin in the statement.

On comparable flight sectors, Bombardier expects the CSeries to emit 23 percent less carbon dioxide than today's new 100-seat-plus jets and 50 percent less than older, similarly sized jets. Additionally, the manufacturer expects the CSeries jets to be quieter than all existing 100-plus-seat jets, claiming the CSeries 110 will be on average 21 decibels below FAA/ICAO Stage IV noise limits at critical noise-measurement points and the CSeries 130 20 decibels below.

The CSeries is specifically designed for the lower end of the 100-to-149-seat commercial jet market. Bombardier estimates this market will total 5,900 aircraft, valued at $250 billion in 2008 U.S. dollars, over the next 20 years.

Initial customer reaction promising

Bombardier's target is to capture half of this market with the CSeries. The company's official statement quoted several potentially important customers for CSeries jets. If their public reaction to the authority-to-offer decision is anything to go by, Bombardier's prospects for the CSeries are strong.

"Lufthansa's focus is on a sustainable fleet development providing flexibility for the future. This includes, amongst other (factors), the assessment of technology, reliability, environmental footprint, economics and passenger comfort," said Nico Buchholz, Lufthansa's senior vice president, corporate fleet. "We are considering the CSeries family of aircraft in our broader evaluation for the lower end of the single-aisle fleet because its proposed advantages could be attractive to us."

"The CSeries aircraft's 2013 entry-into-service date suits us very well. We envisage an order for 20 aircraft," said Akbar Al Baker, CEO of fast-growing and environmentally conscious Qatar Airways.

"We are very interested in the aircraft and have been looking at the CSeries program very carefully," said Steven Udvar-Hazy, chairman, CEO and founder of giant leasing company International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC). "ILFC is not only considering buying the aircraft, we could become a co-launch customer. However, other major airlines need to sign up to the program as well. We would like to see a North American, European and possibly Asian customer."