Delta Inks Deal For Bombardier CSeries

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Delta Air Lines decreed there is a viable competitor to the duopoly of Airbus and Boeing in the single-aisle airliner market with a major deal with Canada’s Bombardier. The airline ordered 75 of Bombardier’s 110-seat CS100 airliners and took options on 50 more with a further option to upgrade those orders to 737-esque CS300s with 160 seats. In a news conference announcing the deal at Bombardier’s facility in Mirabel, Quebec, incoming Delta CEO Ed Bastian called the Canadian company “a third competitor” for the small end of the mainstream airliner market. “And we’re thrilled to have that choice in the marketplace,” he said.

By Boeing and Airbus standards, the order is significant but doesn’t threaten their dominance, considering their decade-long backlog for single-aisle aircraft. However, Delta will have its new CS100s in 2018 and capitalize on the 20 percent fuel burn reductions per seat mile they offer before its competitors can get their hands on new A320 Neo and 737 MAX airplanes that will offer similar savings. The new Bombardiers are also quieter than existing designs. The order was a huge boost to the Bombardier program, which has struggled with delays and budget overruns. Its home province of Quebec has taken a $1 billion stake in the program to help see it through production and the company has also asked Canada’s federal government for a similar investment.

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