CS100: ‘The quietest in its class’

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The message was loud and clear as the all-new Bombardier CS100 made its Toronto debut Thursday: It’s the quietest aircraft in its class.

The company told a gathering of government officials and airline executives that the “aircraft’s noise performance and its outstanding short-field capability make it ideal for city centre operations.”

The CS100 is the smaller version in the CSeries and is on course for certification later this year.

The aircraft that debuted in Toronto was in the colours of launch customer SWISS, or Swiss International Air Lines, and is expected to make the first commercial flight before the middle of next year.

The CS100 can carry up to 125 people while the bigger version, the CS300, is meant for up to 160.

It is not the first time Bombardier is stressing the efficiency of the aircraft. Just before this year’s Paris Air Show, the company declared that the performance of the CSeries was “better than advertised.”

“We announced previously that the CSeries aircraft are exceeding their original targets for fuel burn, payload, range and airfield performance,” said Rob Dewar, vice-president of the program.

“Now we are delighted that the CS100 aircraft’s noise performance tests have confirmed it as the quietest in-production commercial jet in its class.”

The company said the first production CS100 will soon start function and reliability testing, signalling the start of the final flight testing phase.

“For these tests, the aircraft will operate on a commercial airline type of schedule from key airports in North America.”

In all, Bombardier has won 243 firm orders for the CSeries aircraft, 180 of them for the CS300.

No new orders were announced Thursday but Fred Cromer (above), president of Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, was very optimistic.

“The momentum continues to grow,” he said.

All images are by the author.

Emirates hits back in Open Skies battle

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Dubai’s Emirates airline has released a 400-page rebuttal to claims by three major U.S. airlines that it is enjoying an unfair advantage through state subsidies.

In a white paper issued in January, U.S. legacy airlines Delta, United and American had accused Emirates of receiving more than $6 billion in subsidies from the Dubai government.

On Tuesday, Emirates hit back.

“Their argument is nothing more than a mess of legal distortions and factual errors,” the U.A.E. national carrier said in the document posted on its website.

“What the legacy carriers want is protection from competition. Such protection would do irreparable harm to U.S. cities and airports, America’s world-leading aerospace industry, U.S. exports and jobs, U.S. air cargo carriers, and most of all, U.S. consumers, including passengers and shippers,” the document said.

“It would also undermine America’s leadership in international aviation — leadership that has made Open Skies the global template for air services.”

The document was also presented to U.S. officials in Washington by Emirates president Sir Tim Clark.

“The legacy carriers have received more than $100 billion in government support since 2002,” Clark told reporters after his meeting.

“In sum, there is no factual or legal justification for U.S. unilateral action against Emirates,” the document said.

“Such a step by the United States would seriously disadvantage other U.S. stakeholders, sound the death knell for Open Skies, and send a very negative signal about the value of U.S. trade, diplomatic, and security commitments,” the airline warned.

“For these reasons, the legacy carriers’ demands for protection should be firmly rejected.”

Images are courtesy of Emirates.

787 receives 330-minute certification

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The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (from my collection).

Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner has received regulatory approval for extended operations (ETOPS), which the company said today would allow airlines to launch additional routes.

“The move will allow 787s to be operated up to 330 minutes (51/2 hours) from a landing field and signals continued confidence in the airplane’s technical capabilities,” Boeing said.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration had already allowed the airliner to operate up to 180 minutes (three hours) away from a landing field since they began flying in 2011.

“We’re delighted that this capability, which was designed into the airplane from the very beginning, has been certified,” said Larry Loftis, vice-president of the 787 program.

Boeing has received orders for 1,030 Dreamliners from 60 customers and delivered 146 aircraft.

Air Canada, which has ordered 37 Dreamliners, received its first airplane this month.