Page 6 - AAA JULY - AUGUST 2016 Online Magazine

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Revolutionary Evolution

New single-aisle challengers are approaching entry to service
By Atul Chandra

IT IS NOT OFTEN IN THE WORLd OF sheet single-aisle jetliner with revolutionary
aviation that four new-generation aircraft technologies, is now receiving grudging
accomplish crucial milestones in the same acknowledgement from earlier naysayers.
year. But that has exactly been the case in Indeed, path breaking innovation and risk
2016, Bombardier’s C Series jetliner is due associated therein, need to be encouraged
to enter service with launch customer Swiss within the aviation industry and not shied away
International Air Lines (“SWISS”) in July. The from. Bombardier is pegging its two C Series
first Embraer E190-E2 completed its maiden variants, the 110-125 seat CS100 and 135-160
flight in May and the Russian MS-21-300 seat CS 300 as the ideal complement to larger
was rolled out in June and 2016 also marks A320/A321 and 737-800/737-900 jetliners,
the first full year of operations for Airbus’ because of the 25 to 35 per cent lower cost per
A320neo. passenger on board on offer. C Series aircraft
Boeing’s 737 MAX test programme is are expected to deliver a 10-12 per cent cash
also rapidly gathering pace, with all four operating cost advantage, when compared to
aircraft prototypes now participating in the latest single aisle offerings from Boeing,
Bombardier’s C Series programme developmental flight testing. Airbus and Embraer. Bombardier has now
has ‘taken-off’ in 2016. New orders Bombardier’s C Series jetliner, holds the achieved its target of a firm order backlog in
and a clear focus has certainly first real promise of a serious competitor to the excess of 300 aircraft before entry into service.
helped matters. Bombardier hitherto unchallenged single-aisle Airbus A320 15 C Series aircraft are planned to be delivered
delivered the first C Series aircraft
to launch customer SWISS on the and Boeing 737 jetliner families. The scale of this year, with plans to ramp up production to
last day of June Bombardier’s achievement in developing a clean deliver 30 jetliners in 2017.
6 ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE JULY/ AUGUST 2016 WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA