Will Bombardier`s CSeries Change the Game?

Will Bombardier’s CSeries
Change the Game?
PHOTOS: CHRIS SLOAN-AIRCHIVE.COM
by Chris Sloan
Blue lighting downplayed CS100 FTV1/msn 50001’s ‘green’ state at the unveiling. The wing-fuselage fairings were to be fitted a few days later.
On Thursday, March 7, 2013, Bombardier Aerospace unveiled the first example of the CSeries
in a ‘Program Update’ event in Montréal. This ultra-fuel-efficient, composites construction,
geared turbofan-powered aircraft with a modern passenger cabin is the first western ‘clean
sheet design’ in the regional category in a decade. More significantly, it attempts to create a
new class that could one day challenge the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families’ duopoly.
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June 2013
B
JOHN WEGG
ombardier is not new to innovation. In 1991, it
introduced the Canadair Regional Jet, the first
modern 50-seat twin, based on the Challenger
600 business jet, a program that had challenged
the finances of its manufacturer and led to that
company’s acquisition by Bombardier (Airways, March
2001). The CRJ100/200 became a phenomenal success
for both Bombardier and its airline customers. A total
of 938 were in service by the time production ended in
mid-2006 (the basic CRJ200 continued to trickle off the
line until 2011 as the Challenger 850 biz-jet). In an era of
far lower fuel prices and booming economic growth, the
General Electric CF34 turbofan-powered CRJs threatened
to vanquish turboprop equipment to the boneyards,
including Bombardier’s own Dash 8 (inherited from its
acquisition of De Havilland Canada).
A mockup of the BRJ-X 128in (3.25m)-wide cabin was unveiled at the
1999 Paris Air Show. Two rows of business class had a 40in (102cm)
pitch, and there were five rows of economy seats at 32in (81cm). A
new feature was rotating overhead bins.
Airways
In spite of high operating costs, the CRJs were the
perfect feeder for major airline hubs and could also
redraw networks with new city pairs. While hardly
comfortable, passengers preferred the smoother ride of
a pure-jet. Regional airlines such as American Eagle,
SkyWest, and Atlantic Southeast Airlines climbed to
new heights, and the CRJ’s success prompted Embraer of
Brazil to launch the rival ERJ 145.
With today’s stratospheric fuel prices, the 50-seat RJ
party has come to an end and, ironically, the less-thirsty
turboprops have undergone a renaissance.
Bombardier was first to explore larger RJs when it
considered a bid in the mid-Nineties for the struggling
Dutch manufacturer Fokker, which produced the
Rolls-Royce Tay-powered 70/100 twin-jets. Instead, in
1997 it launched a stretched version of the CRJ200, the
66/78-seat CRJ700 that entered service in 2001.
The Canadian company then promoted the
90/110-seat BRJ-X (Bombardier Regional Jet eXpansion),
with a similar configuration to the CSeries, with BMW
Rolls-Royce BR715, CFM56-9, and Pratt & Whitney
PW6000 all powerplant contenders. This project was
abandoned in 1999 in favor of stretching the CRJ700
into the 90-seat CRJ900. Deliveries of the even longer
CRJ1000 began in December 2010.
Intended to compete with Embraer’s 80/120-seat
E-Jets (Airways, December 2009, January 2007, December
2005 & July 2004), the stretched CRJs are a substantial
improvement over the original 50-seaters in terms of
efficiency and comfort, although the narrow 2-2 crosssection remains unchanged. By March 2013, 349 CRJ700s
had been produced, along with 266 CRJ900s and 66
CRJ1000s. Outstanding orders for the latter types total
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With a takeoff field length of 4,000ft (1,210m), the CS100 will be a very capable aircraft for close-in
airports. The mysterious UK-based Odyssey Airlines is planning to offer such services between London
and European capitals, and a CS100 in an all-business 44-seat layout could fly nonstop between
London City and New York.
CHRIS SLOAN-AIRCHIVE.COM
65 and 38 aircraft, respectively.
Embraer
has
delivered
354 ERJ 170/175s, with orders
held for 96 more, and 596
ERJ 190/195s, plus another 117
on order. Clearly Embraer has
gained the edge in the largerclass RJs. So, with momentum
shifting to its formidable
Brazilian competitor, Bombardier
needed to respond.
In March 2005 Bombardier
announced
the
CSeries
(comprising the C110 and
C130; the ‘C’ standing for
‘competitive, continental, and
connector’).
Structurally, the majority
of the fuselage would be
constructed of light-weight
aluminum-lithium
(Al-Li)
alloys, with the wing and
empennage
of
composite
material. Similar in crosssection to that of the BRJ-X, the
cabin of the CSeries retained
five-abreast seating.
The 100/125-seat C110
would
compete
directly
with the 122-seat E-195, and
secondarily with the 717, 737600, and A318 (all three since
discontinued). With between
120 and 145 seats, the stretched
C130 would be moving into
A319/737-700 territory.
At 12:1, the Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1500G has the highest bypass ratio of
any certified turbofan, which will make it very quiet indeed. Three versions are on
offer, with the PW1524G rated at 23,300lb (103.6kN) st.
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Cabin of the CSeries has a width of 129in (3.28m). The
extra large windows measure 11 x 16in (28 x 41cm).
June 2013
PHOTOS: BOMBARDIER
In spite of having secured financing from the government of Canada, its
home Province of Québec, and the United Kingdom (where it had established
a manufacturing presence in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with the takeover of
Short Brothers), Bombardier put the CSeries on hold on January 31, 2006,
after failing to attract sufficient orders. Instead the company concentrated
on the CRJ1000 for a year.
Late in 2007, Bombardier confirmed that an entirely new engine—the
Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan—would be the exclusive powerplant for
the airplane, and from February 22, 2008, the CSeries was formally offered to
customers. That July, the program was officially launched at the Farnborough
Air Show with an order from Lufthansa for 30 aircraft, plus 30 options
(Airways, October 2008).
Bombardier also announced that final assembly would take place on a
new line alongside the CRJ at Mirabel Airport. The wings and center fuselage
section would be built in Belfast; forward and aft fuselage barrels, as well
Bombardier has chosen to use side-sticks for the CSeries, which also has a new auto-throttle system. The Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion
avionics include large LCDs, dual flight management system, cursor control system, data links, sensed electronic checklist, Cat IIIA autoland
(Cat IIIB is optional), and RNP 0.1 capability for precision flightpaths. Other options include electronic flight bags and head-up display.
Airways
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narrow-body class with 5-10% wider seats (the middle seat is 10%
wider than the aisle or window ones). Besides large windows, the
CSeries introduces ‘mood-lighting’ and large overhead bins to the
regional market.
At the unveiling event Michele (Mike) Arcamone, president
of Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, confirmed the 160-seat extra
capacity seating option for the CS300 that was offered at last year’s
Farnborough Air Show to AirAsia (which stayed with the A320).
The increase is achieved by using Zodiac slimline seats with 28in
(71cm) pitch and adding another set of over-wing emergency
exits. AirBaltic is the first of three customers to choose the option,
but has selected a 148-seat layout. With the option (which can
be retrofitted to all CS300s), Bombardier claims a passenger-seatmile-cost comparable to 180-seaters such as the popular 737-800
and A320, although it maintains that the target ‘sweet spot’ of the
CSeries remains the 100/149-seat market. Significantly, Arcamone
adds, “If we ever decide to stretch, we have the capability.” Indeed,
this has been a hallmark of Bombardier with the CRJ series.
First flight of the CS100 was originally set for the second
half of 2012, and then moved to December 2012, with deliveries
PHOTOS: CHRIS SLOAN-AIRCHIVE.COM
as the cockpit, to be supplied by Bombardier’s
St-Laurent plant; and the rear fuselage by
Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, a subsidiary
of the state-owned China Aviation Industry
Corporation. Other suppliers include Italian
787 contractor Alenia (horizontal and vertical
stabilizers); Zodiac (seating, bins, and cabin
furnishings); and Rockwell Collins (avionics).
In March 2009 the two variants were
restyled CS100 and CS300, the latter receiving
its first order from Lease Corporation
International of Dublin.
Bombardier has announced firm orders
for 148 CSeries (including 82 CS300s), plus
234 commitments, but is confident of having
300 orders from 20 customers by the time the
CS100 enters service. Development costs are
estimated at $3.4 billion which, with list prices
in the $58-$68 million range, place break-even
around 500 airframes. The company forecasts
a market of 19,000 aircraft over the next 20
years, and expects to capture up to half of
those sales with the CSeries.
The proof will be in the pudding, and
the pudding is definitely to a new recipe.
Bombardier claims CSeries advantages of 15%
and 20% in cash operating costs and fuel
burn, respectively, over the existing E-Jets and
other competitors. This is in addition to 25%
direct maintenance cost savings.
Environmental benefits run a close
second. Bombardier promises the CSeries will
produce 50% fewer NOx emissions relative
to the competition, with a four times quieter
noise footprint. These gains are achievable
because 70% of the airframe is constructed of
advanced materials, resulting in an operating
weight empty up to 12,000lb (5,500kg) less
than similar size airliners, and the use of the
high-bypass PW1500G.
The CS100 has a range of 2,950nm
(5,460km) with 110 passengers, a takeoff
field length of 4,000ft (1,210m), an operating
ceiling of 41,000ft (with 8,000ft cabin
pressurization), and a maximum gross takeoff
weight of 129,000lb (58,510kg). MGTOW for
the CS300, which has had a one-row stretch
for a 135-passenger baseline, is 144,000lb
(65,315kg).
Until the arrival of Embraer’s E-Jets, the
passenger experience in RJs was often ignored.
The E-Jets set a new standard with a 2-2 cabin
that allowed for wider seats than even A320s
and 737s. They were also designed for seatback
in-flight entertainment from the start. The
CSeries claims to bring a wide-body feel to a
CS100s FTV2 and FTV3 under construction at Mirabel. A moving final assembly
line is to open in 2014, capable of producing up to 100 CSeries airplanes per year.
Bombardier will use seven FTVs (NASA-style speak for Flight Test Vehicles) for the
CSeries certification program: five CS100s and two CS300s. FTV1 will be used
primarily for aerodynamics and FTV2 for avionics. CS100 FTV5 will be the first
aircraft with a passenger cabin.
June 2013
beginning by the end of 2013. A first flight is now slated
for no later than June 30. If the 12-month flight test
and certification program is not extended, deliveries will
commence around the third quarter 2014. The CS300
is expected to be airborne next year, with deliveries
from 2015.
Even though Lufthansa is the launch customer,
with early deliveries going to Swiss European Air Lines
to replace Avro RJs, Bombardier says that the CS100 will
be introduced into service by an ‘undisclosed customer’.
This buyer, which has orders for ten (plus six options), is
‘a major network carrier, one of the oldest in the world’.
In response to the CSeries, Embraer considered a
fresh design but followed Bombardier’s earlier approach
and chose the conservative route. A second generation
of E-Jets will have a new wing and a slightly taller
landing gear to accommodate the Pratt & Whitney
geared turbofan, similar to that of the CSeries. The new
E-Jets should appear between 2016 and 2018.
Bombardier has changed the game before, and the
industry knows better than to bet against the Canadians.
Responding to a question about taking on the Airbus/
Boeing duopoly, Mike Arcamone says, in a not thinly
veiled reference to the upcoming A320neo and 737
MAX, “This is a real airplane not a paper airplane. This
is not a re-engined aircraft but a new aircraft with a
proven mix of new and proven technology. We will be
there and we will win.” ✈
Announced CSeries orders
airBaltic
Korean Air
Lease Corp Intl
Lufthansa (some for Swiss)
Malmö Aviation/Braathens Leasing
Odyssey Airlines (Europe)
PrivatAir
Republic Airways Holdings
Undisclosed European airline *
Undisclosed ‘well established’ airline
10 CS300 (148 seats)
10 CS300 (+10 options)
3 CS100, 17 CS300 (+ 20 options)
30 CS100 (+30 options)
5 CS100, 5 CS300 (+10 options)
10 CS100
5 CS100 (+5 options)
40 CS300 (+40 options)
10 CS100 (+6 options)
3 CS100 (+3 options)
* first operator
BOMBARDIER
Ilyushin Finance has a conditional order for 32 CS300 (+10 options)
Atlasjet has a commitment for 10 CS300 (+5 options)
Other commitments include 12 CS100 (+18 options) for an airline in the Americas,
and 5 CS100 and 10 CS300 from an undisclosed customer
Fuselage length of the CS300 is 124ft 10in (38.05m), for baseline seating of 135, compared to 115ft (35.05m) for the 100/125-seat CS100. An
extra capacity seating option for the CS300 increases capacity by 15 seats to a maximum of 160, reducing cash operating costs by 8%.
Airways
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