Bombardier hints at larger version of latest C Series

Bombardier debuted their new C Series at the Paris Air Show this week with flights from their C300 aircraft, the first time an all-new single-aisle aircraft has been unveiled at the Paris Air Show since 1987. However the new series, which was launched in 2008, is already 2.5 years behind schedule and in excess of US$2bn over budget. Questions are being raised as to how the Canadian manufacturer will be able to take on the duopoly of Airbus and Boeing in this sector of the market, though with a commitment to improve economy by 4% by 2018, Bombardier are hoping that this will attract more interest from today’s highly cost-conscious airlines. Currently firm orders stand at 243, with two thirds of those for the C300 series. Bombardier had hoped that orders would have reached 300 by the time the planes came into service, but there have been no new commitments since September 2014. Despite this marginally pessimistic outlook, Bombardier have also made it known that they have had good interest from a number of buyers for a larger C500 series plane which would have appreciably greater capacity than the current 110-160 seats. When asked about the CS500 model, Bombardier Vice-President of the C Series, Rob Dewar, is quoted as saying, “It’s a possibility, yes. The platform has the capability to be a larger aircraft ….[ ]…. We get demand for a larger aircraft, but we give them exactly the same response, we’re focused on the CS100 and 300.”