Aug 27 2012

CSeries Aircraft Zero undergoing virtual flight tests

Bombardier_logoBombardier Aerospace announced on August 27th, 2012 that virtual flight testing is underway using Aircraft Zero of the CSeries program. According to the company’s release, avionics, electrical, flight control, fly-by-wire, hydraulic, landing gear and wiring systems are now all commissioned, and systems integration and communication within and between the systems has been successfully demonstrated.

This milestone marks the beginning of the ground testing program with the eventual goal of driving forwards the first flight of the  CSeries flight test program. The testing is being undertaken at the Complete Integrated Aircraft System Test Area (CIASTA) facility in Mirabel, Québec.

Other ground testing systems include the Engineering Flight Simulator (ESIM), the avionics Systems Integration Test Stand (SITS), the Flight Controls Integration Lab (FCIL)  and the Interior and Environmental Control Systems (ECS) rig.

To date, the CSeries program has booked orders and commitments for 352 aircraft. Order include 138 CSeries airliners from Braathens Aviation (five CS100 and five CS300 aircraft), Deutsche Lufthansa AG (30 CS100 aircraft), Korean Air (10 CS300 aircraft), Lease Corporation International Group (17 CS300 and three CS100 aircraft), PrivatAir (five CS100 aircraft), Republic Airways (40 CS300 aircraft), an unidentified major network carrier (10 CS100 aircraft), an unidentified European customer (10 CS100 aircraft) and a well-established, unidentified airline (three CS100 aircraft).

The CSeries aircraft program has also booked options for 124 aircraft and purchase rights for 10 aircraft from these customers. The program also holds a conditional order placed by an unidentified customer for five CS100 and 10 CS300 airliners, as well as three letters of intent: up to 30 CSeries aircraft from Ilyushin Finance, up to 15 CS300 aircraft from Atlasjet, and up to 20 CS300 aircraft from airBaltic.

First flight for the CSeries is still scheduled before the end of 2012.

Aug 23 2012

Delivery of first CRJ900 to RwandAir planned for October 2012

Artist's rendering of RwandAir CRJ 900Seen at the Bombardier manufacturing plant in Montreal recently, the first RwandAir CRJ900 is in the final stages of preparation for delivery.

Announced plans are that the aircraft will be delivered to the airline by the middle of October 2012.

The first aircraft has been identified as MSN 15286, with a second identified aircraft for the airline to be MSN 15287, both of which are CRJ 900 NextGen aircraft.

The airline holds one option for a further aircraft from Bombardier.

The airline previously had operated CRJ200 aircraft which are no longer in their fleet.

The airline’s current operating fleet includes one DHC-8-100, two 737-500s and two 737-800s.

 

Aug 10 2012

Air Canada considering fleet changes in 2013

Air Canada LogoAir Canada is planning possible fleet changes as a result of an arbitrator’s decision in July which would give the airline the opportunity to remove regional jets from its mainline fleet and ordering larger aircraft in their place.

The airline and its pilot union offered two different plans to settle their conflict and in the end the arbitrator selected the airline’s plan over the union’s. As such, the airline is of the opinion that it can make several changes in its fleet to provide better operational flexiblity.

One possible result is that the airline may shift some of its A319s and 767s to a low cost carrier which may begin operating in 2013. Air Canada had offered a low cost carrier called Zip in the past which operated ex-Canadian Airlines 737s and later also operated another carrier called Tango which operated 737s and A320s, but found those operations to be inefficient and shut those operations down soon after beginning them.

The aircraft in question are leased and those leases will come to an end by the end of 2015. While the 767s will be replaced by new 787s which are expected to come into service during the same period, the removal of the A319s from the fleet might mean that the airline will be seeking new orders for aircraft as a result. Air Canada currently operates 38 A319s and 30 767s. As well, 45 Embraer 190s and 15 Embraer 175s are owned by Air Canada, but are a possible target as part of the fleet restructuring.

Air Canada has indicated that the Embraers are good aircraft, but do not fit as well into their fleet structure as they would like. According to reports, the airline is considering whether or not to remove them from the fleet as well. All or some of the Embraer 175s could be operated by Air Canada Express, but the Embraer 190s would have to be sold as they would not be acceptable due to scope clauses with the airline’s regional pilots.

Another result of the fleet restructuring will be the acceleration of the retirement of CRJ100s and CRJ200s operated by Air Canada Express, and their replacement by CRJ700s and 900s.

Aug 09 2012

Bombardier ready to begin integrated CSeries tests

Bombardier_logoBombardier will begin integrated CSeries testing towards the end of August in preparation for the program’s first flight which is scheduled for December 2012.

The testing will be performed at the manufacturer’s  CIASTA facility in Mirabel and at various component  suppliers around the world. Certification of the CSeries program is expected to take 18 months in total.

In various news reports, Bombardier has indicated that a delay in the program of between three to five months would not be unexpected, but remains confident in their projected first flight date.

Bombardier has collected orders from several airlines and leasing companies and expects that upon first flight additional orders will appear. Bombardier is targeting Air Canada as a possible customer for the CSeries to replace the airline’s Embraer aircraft which it has indicated it may wish to replace in the near future due to pilot agreements.