We’ve all been quietly waiting for Bombardier to get a mega-order for its CSeries aircraft from a carrier… and on the day when deep cuts were announced in the company – Air Canada stepped up to announce a Letter of Intent to order.
Air Canada Bombardier CSeries – Rendering, Bombardier
In its Letter of Intent to order, Air Canada will looking for:
- 45 CS300 aircraft
- Options for 30 more CS300 aircraft (with conversion rights to CS100)
- Total possible order size = 75 Bombardier CS300 aircraft
In doing so, Air Canada will the first North American operator of the Bombardier CSeries aircraft.
Deliveries are scheduled to commence in late 2019 and through to 2022.
The first 25 aircraft will be used to replace Air Canada’s mainline Embraer E190 fleet, and using the remainder to assist in the growth of Air Canada network in North America.
Of course, Air Canada aren’t buying these new aircraft out of the goodness of their heart – the airline will be seeking fuel burn and maintenance cost reductions that a new aircraft with more efficient engines and aerodynamics bring.
Air Canada’s President and CEO – Calin Rovinescu – seems happy with the letter of intent, stating
“With its high fuel efficiency performance and greater seating capacity, the next generation technology of the C Series is very well suited for our current and future network strategy and will be an extremely efficient addition to our fleet.
The renewal of our North American narrowbody fleet with more capable and efficient aircraft is a key element of our ongoing cost transformation program – plus the enhanced passenger cabin comfort provided by the CS300 will help us to retain Air Canada’s competitive position as the only Four-Star international network carrier in North America.
However, this news comes at a dark time for Bombardier, with up to 7,000 jobs to be cut world-wide as they attempt to adjust themselves to the hammer blows that have hit the CSeries project, as well as adjusting other transportation projects needs and requirements.
For Bombardier, the order for CSeries Aircraft is an important order – least of all, a big carrier has stepped up to buy their aircraft in number.
It marks a vote of confidence that maybe Bombardier actually had it right when they planned this new aircraft to fill the gap in the 100-150 seat category market that Airbus and Boeing are trying to fill with their re-engineered aircraft
And for Bombardier – hopefully it will trigger a snowball effect of more orders for the CSeries aircraft.
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