Delivery of the First Bombardier CSeries Aircraft to Swiss

MIRABEL, QC –  Last Thursday, Swiss departed Canada for Zurich with a brand new Bombardier CS100 aircraft. Swiss is the launch customer of the CSeries. I had the chance to be present at the delivery ceremony on Wednesday. During the afternoon, there was a CSeries flight for the media, as well as a factory tour of the final assembly line.

Bombardier CSeries FTV5 featuring the Swiss livery.

Bombardier CSeries FTV5 featuring the Swiss livery.

This was the second time I boarded the aircraft, but it was the first time I was going to be on a flight. I saw the aircraft for the first time back in December 2015 during the certification event. I enjoyed the plane’s wide cabin and seat configuration (3-2). Instead of having two middle seats on each row like on the A320s and B737s, there is only one in each row of the CSeries. I also like the large windows which are 50% larger than the A320.

My boarding pass for the flight!

My boarding pass for the flight!

I was really excited to be flying the CSeries for the first time. Bombardier offered a short flight on one of their test aircraft (FTV5) for the 80 medias present. The flight crew announced to the passengers that they would fly over Mont Tremblant and come back and land at Mirabel. The crew planned an altitude of 16,000 ft. to Mont Tremblant and a lower altitude of 10,000 ft.on the way back to Mirabel. The whole flight would take approximately 45 minutes.

Inflight at 16,000ft.

What a beautiful view at 16,000 ft!

Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engine.

Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engine.

I was seated in 18A by the window, just behind the wing of the aircraft. From my seat, I had a great view of outside the aircraft. As we taxied to the active runway, I thought the engine was pretty quiet compared to other aircraft of similar size. It only took a few seconds and only 2,400 ft. of runway before we lifted off the ground. A few minutes later, the flight crew turned off the seat belt sign as the aircraft leveled at its short cruising altitude of 16,000 ft. Many passengers rushed in the aisle for pictures and interviews. The aisle was very busy during the flight as many folks wanted to explore the aircraft from nose to tail. The two flight attendants served the passengers a bottle of water and bags of candies for this short 45 minute flight.

Speedbrakes up for landing!

Speedbrakes up for landing!

My first flight on the CSeries and my first customer delivery flight on Air Canada’s last Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to be delivered are two amazing experiences I will never forget.

Until next time!

Nicolas


Contact the author at berniern@my.erau.edu

Tour of the Bombardier CSeries

On December 18, I had the opportunity to tour the Bombardier Facility in Mirabel, Canada, where the CRJ and the CSeries is built. It was a huge day for the company as they announced the certification of their new aircraft, the CS100. I was invited to the event as a media with AirwaysNews.

Program leaders on the CSeries program, along with government representatives of Canada held a press conference in the morning to announce the new jet’s certification. The multinational also announced that the first CS100 will be delivered to launch customer, Swiss International Air Lines, in the first half of 2016. The larger variant, the CS300, is scheduled to get certificated in the next six months and deliveries will begin in the second half of the year.

CS300

The Bombardier CS300.

Following the press release, the media was allowed to tour the new aircraft. I first visited the CS300. As I entered by the main door of the aircraft, I thought the cabin was very long. Once in service, this aircraft will seat a maximum of 160 passengers. The plane did not have any seats in the cabin because it was one of the testing flight. It was filled with various equipment and computers to monitor different components during flights.

I then boarded the CS100, which looked like a usual aircraft with seats installed. I headed to the flight deck to see the new technology the plane had to offer. It included side sticks instead of the regular yokes found on other plane. It was very impressive!

Flight deck of the CS100 aircraft.

Flight deck of the CS100 aircraft.

The CSeries is designed in a 3-2 configuration in economy class and 2-2 in first class. I particularly enjoy this configuration because only 20% of the seats in economy are middle seats. Everybody hates middle seats. I personally prefer a window seat because I like to enjoy the view! I think the cabin looks similar in size to Delta’s Boeing 717-200.

Inside the cabin of the CS100.

Inside the cabin of the CS100.

The aircraft offers large overhead bins to accommodate the large number of carry bags passengers board with them these days. The pivot bins enable passengers to store the bags sideways instead of flat in the overhead compartments. The CSeries has also a modern galley and modern restrooms to accommodate the passengers.

The pivot bins can support four carry-on bags.

The pivot bins can support four carry-on bags.

I really enjoyed spending half a day at the Bombardier facility in Mirabel. I knew I was going to attend the press conference, but it I didn’t know the media would be allowed to tour the new aircraft! You can read my full story and see more pictures on AirwaysNews.com.

Until next time!

Nicolas


Contact the author at berniern@my.erau.edu