Bombardier To Get CS300 Certification 'Soon'

Bombardier will get certification "soon" of the larger of its CSeries jet family, the CS300, a senior executive said, after delivery of its first CS100 to Swiss International Airlines.

The CS100 was awarded certification by Transport Canada in December last year. Bombardier has said it expected to get the larger, 130-seat CS300 certified during the second quarter of this year.

"The next big challenge is to get the CS300 certified, which will happen soon," said Bombardier Commercial Aircraft president Fred Cromer.

Swiss International's Chief Technical Officer Peter Wojahn said the carrier is well prepared to integrate the nine CSeries aircraft it is taking this year.

He said he had some initial concerns triggered by media reports over Bombardier's liquidity challenges last year and the CSeries' struggles with delays and cost-overruns.

"We had some concerns, quite honestly, you know when there was this negative media in the last 12 months," Wojahn told reporters on the tarmac at Bombardier's Mirabel factory in Quebec.

Swiss has ordered 30 CSeries jets and is not currently planning to order additional planes, Wojahn said.

The delivery is a milestone in Bombardier's efforts to break into the fleets of major airlines, and challenge larger rivals Boeing and Airbus in the market for 100-seat aircraft.