Jetrader - March/April 2012 - 27

110-seat CS100 planes in service by the end of 2013. That model costs $57 million, according to Bombardier spokesman John Arnone. The other plane in the CSeries, the 130-seat, $63 million CS300, likely will debut a year later. Arnone said in December that the company had ﬁrm orders for 133 CSeries planes, and that number could swell to more than 300 if all of the customers who have said they plan to buy planes follow through. Among the ﬁrst customers were Lufthansa’s Swiss International Air Lines and Republic Airways Holdings’ Frontier Airlines.

some point, you have to move on and start manufacturing,” Mullot said.

Adjustments for Passenger Comfort
One area of focus for Bombardier during the planning phase was providing an increased level of comfort for passengers. The CSeries uses a ﬁve-abreast seating pattern, so there are half as many middle seats as with a six-abreast pattern. From the viewpoint of a seated passenger, there are two seats on the left side of the plane, a center aisle and three seats on the right. Most of the seats are 18 1/2 inches wide, whereas seats on comparable aircraft measure between 17.3 and 18 inches in width, said Sam Cherry, Bombardier’s director of program planning, development and customer requirements. In addition, the middle seat on the CSeries was widened to 19 inches based upon input from airline representatives. That’s a small change, but since every bit of space counts, some airline executives believe the wider middle seat might actually command a higher price from passengers, providing airlines with more revenue, Cherry said. And most of the middle seats will be used sparingly since they account for 20 percent of the seats on the CSeries and most ﬂights operate with an 80 percent load factor. Input from airlines also was taken into account when upgrading the aisle and window seats. The windows in the CSeries measure 16 inches tall and 11 inches wide, making them about 20

Listening to the Customer
From the start of the CSeries program, Bombardier has met with airline representatives about twice a year to update them on the status of the project and seek input on possible improvements. These presentations often lasted a full day or two and were held across the globe in places like Hong Kong, Belfast, Montreal and Singapore to ensure that different regions and segments of the market were represented, Mullot said. Bombardier also formed subgroups

Cents In
with airline representatives that focused on speciﬁc areas of the design, such as the interior, engine and ﬂight deck. Airlines made the bulk of their suggestions during the planning stage, but Bombardier continued the dialogue well into the development phase, Mullot said. “As we progressed, there was less space for making changes because at

percent larger than those in comparable aircraft, and there are about 30 percent more windows in the design, Cherry said. The windows have been raised slightly and the side panels sculpted to give passengers more shoulder and head room. The design also allows more light to enter the cabin and gives passengers an unobstructed view outside. The aisle also has been widened to 20 inches, giving the passenger in the aisle seat a bit more elbow room. “We heard from the airlines that the aisle is an area that most manufacturers are neglecting,” Mullot said. “The width of the aisle is very critical to make boarding and deplaning more efﬁcient and faster, so we decided to go with an aisle that is about one inch wider than comparable aircraft. “That doesn’t sound like much, but that extra inch is going to allow boarding and deplaning to be done faster. It also gives more living space to the passenger sitting on the aisle. That decision was made in conjunction with the airlines.” The lavatories also have been widened to allow greater access for handicapped passengers, and the overhead bins have been enlarged to provide 20 percent to 25 percent more space for carry-on bags than comparable aircraft, Cherry said.

Composite vs. Advanced Aluminum Lithium
Early in the development phase, Bombardier considered using composite material for its fuselage so the plane would be lighter and therefore more fuel efﬁcient. The company soon realized, however, that composite also is harder to repair and might not stand up to constant wear and tear from multiple daily ﬂights.

“My primary responsibility in that field is making sure that the customer requirements that were defined when we launched the program are actually incorporated into the design. We’re delivering on the commitments that we’ve made to customers when designing the aircraft.”
-Sebastien Mullo, CSeries program director, Bombardier Inc.
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Jetrader - March/April 2012

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