The new CS100 aircraft demonstrated a quiet flypast in Toronto.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail
Bombardier Inc. won regulatory approval from U.S. and European aviation authorities for the smaller of its two C Series planes as it prepares to deliver the aircraft for its first commercial flight next month.
The Canadian plane and train maker received certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration as well as the European Aviation Safety Agency attesting that its CS100 model meets the safety requirements set by the United States and European Union, spokeswoman Marianella de la Barrera confirmed Wednesday. Such certification is required before any newly-developed airliner enters into operation.
Bombardier Chief Executive Alain Bellemare is focused on a smooth entry-into-service for the C Series, the biggest aircraft the company has ever built, which will carry its first paying passengers on July 15 with Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss. Zurich-based Swiss will fly the CS100 in a 125-seat configuration as a replacement for its existing Avro RJ100 planes.
Buoyed by a sale of 75 Series planes to Delta Air Lines Inc. in April, Bombardier is now pushing to add other customers to its order book. Observers question how the manufacturer will handle demands from other customers for steep discounts similar to the ones offered to Delta. The plane maker estimates it will build 255 to 315 C Series aircraft from 2016 to the end of 2020.
The CS100 was certified by Transport Canada's civil aviation directorate in December 2015. That eases the certification process for other countries with which Canada has bilateral aviation safety agreements.
Nicolas Van Praet