Bombardier Grants Authority To Offer CSeries – The New Generation Five-Abreast Commercial Aircraft

The 2013 CSeries aircraft design incorporates latest technologies, generating unmatched economic and environmental benefits:

* New, largely composite and aluminum-lithium alloy structure
* Latest systems include fly-by-wire combined with fourth-generation aerodynamics
* Pratt & Whitney’s next-generation high by-pass Geared TurbofanTM engine

CSeries family of 110- and 130-seat aircraft will produce:

* Up to 20% lower fuel burn
* Unmatched reductions in noise and emissions
* Unprecedented combination of airfield and range performance
* Up to 15% better overall cash operating costs

Bombardier announced that its Board of Directors has granted Bombardier Aerospace the authority to offer formal sales proposals of the optimized CSeries aircraft family to airline customers. The aircraft will incorporate the latest technology available to produce the economic, performance, environmental and passenger-oriented improvements demanded by airline customers for the next quarter century. Entry into service is scheduled for 2013.

Authority to offer is the next important step in the process that leads to program launch. Before requesting program launch approval from the Bombardier Board of Directors, Bombardier Aerospace will obtain firm commitments from customers. A launch decision is expected in 2008.

“The CSeries aircraft will benefit from the latest technological advancements, including: increased use of composites and aluminum lithium in structures; a next-generation engine - the Pratt & Whitney Geared TurbofanTM; and the very latest in system technologies, such as fly-by-wire, and fourth-generation aerodynamics. Together, these advancements will produce up to 20 per cent better fuel burn and up to 15 per cent improved cash operating costs versus current in-production aircraft of similar size,” said Pierre Beaudoin, President and Chief Operating Officer, Bombardier Aerospace.

“Our decision to continue refining our business plan over the last two years has proven to be the right one. It has allowed us to take advantage of new technologies and to meet the airlines’ evolving requirements for future efficient five-abreast aircraft. Airlines worldwide have expressed their keen interest to receive formal sales proposals from us,” he added.

“We are delighted that Bombardier’s Board of Directors has given authorization to offer the CSeries aircraft, and we are excited to partner with Bombardier in discussions with airlines and operators around the world,” said Todd Kallman, President, Pratt & Whitney Commercial Engines. “The game-changing performance of the Pratt & Whitney Geared TurbofanTM engine, combined with the new generation design of the CSeries aircraft, will bring double-digit improvements in fuel efficiency, environmental emissions, noise and operating costs to CSeries customers.”

“Lufthansa’s focus is on a sustainable fleet development providing flexibility for the future. This includes, amongst others, the assessment of technology, reliability, environmental footprint, economics and passenger comfort. We are considering the CSeries family of aircraft in our broader evaluation of opportunities for the lower end of the single-aisle fleet because its proposed advantages could be attractive to us,” said Nico Buchholz, Senior Vice-President, Corporate Fleet, Lufthansa.

“The CSeries aircraft’s 2013 entry into service date suits us very well. We envisage an order for 20 aircraft,” said Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Airways.

“We are very interested in the aircraft and have been looking at the CSeries program very carefully,” said Steven F. Udvar-Hazy, Chairman and CEO/Founder of the giant lessor company International Lease Finance Corporation. “ILFC is not only considering buying the aircraft, we could become a co-launch customer. However, other major airlines need to sign up to the program as well. We would like to see a North American, European and possibly Asian customer,” he added.

The Bombardier CSeries aircraft family is specifically designed for the lower end of the 100- to 149-seat market segment, estimated at 5,900 aircraft - or $250 billion US - over the next 20 years. Bombardier’s target is to capture half this market.