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Leeham News and Analysis
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Bombardier’s CS100 media flight demonstrates quiet
July 10, 2016, (c) Leeham Co.: Our coverage of the Farnborough Air Show (#FIA16 on Twitter) begins today, with a media flight on the Bombardier CS100. The day was rainy and somewhat turbulent until the flight got above the clouds. Some videos are jumpy as a result.
There are several videos about the flight and some with interviews following the page break.
Quiet taxi
The first video is intended to demonstrate the quiet Pratt & Whitney engines during taxi.
Quiet take off
The following video is of the take-off. It is intended to demonstrate how quiet the PW GTF is. Although not on the video, upon landing the thrust reversers were deployed. This writer, sitting over the wing, could not hear them.
Quiet cabin, wider aisle
The following video is intended to demonstrate the cabin quiet in conjunction with the PA announcement. Also note the wide aisle and the room on either side of the galley cart and mentally compare this with current jets.
Cockpit features
The following video explains some of the cockpit features in the new Bombardier CS100. The pilot is a company pilot.
CS100 special performance
Rob Dewar, VP of the CSeries program, discusses the special performance of the CS100.
CSeries Cabin Features
Dewar also discusses cabin features of the CSeries. Turbulence makes for a jumpy video.
The wide aisle is a pleasant looking feature. Not that I am a pessimist or anything, but are there provisions in the aircraft to go from 2-3 to 3-3 or is that nice, wide aisle “safe” from encroachment?
In the 5th video we can clearly hear Rob Dewar say that the CS100 can reach JFK direct from LCY with 42 passengers onboard, in an all-business class configuration. It is interesting to note that on the same route with the A318, BA can carry only 32 passengers. But when they are eastbound they have to make a technical stop in Shannon, because the A318 cannot take off from LCY with the required fuel load. The A318 normally has exceptional range, but the runway at LCY is too short for the A318’s limited performances. The CS100’s superior performances allow it to reach JFK direct and with 10 more lucrative seats. This makes the CSeries a very interesting proposition for BA, which also has to replace its aging A319 fleet. The CS100 could replace its small fleet of A318 while the CS300 would replace its larger fleet of A319. And when BBD will have developed the CS500 BA would then be in a position to have an entire family of aircraft in the 100-150 seat segment. The Airbus A321 would be a nice complement for the CS100/300/500 family, and there are many airlines out there that could potentially adopt this innovative business model. Even if fuel prices are to remain low, the C Series will still be an attractive aircraft because of its exceptional performances and the high level of comfort it offers to passengers, including those who have to travel in a wheel chair. What we are witnessing here is the dawn of a new era in commercial aviation.
the BA 318 was the business jet version (ACJ) which gave it additional range for this route against the prevailing winds. The technical stop in Shannon was used for refueling and passing through US customs, a major advantage compared with the big crowds at JFK.
Normand you are forgetting that BA had a crew change at Shannon as well, this was because the overall flight crew time was counted from start of duty at Heathrow and then the road transfer to LCY . Would BA be prepared to make LCY a duty station so its pilots would fly all the way to JFK would be interesting .
Whether the CS300 can replace the A319 at BA will surely depend on whether BA choosesto replace the A318s with a similar size of aircraft. I’d expect them to upgauge to at least the A320 or similar size when the time comes
BA has 2 A 318s.C series sounds like a giant hoover,not that that’s a particularly bad thing. Looks lovely inside, let’s see if anyone is prepared to pay a little bit extra for a bit more comfort.
BA has a mix of aircraft sizes on it sectors, so it uses both A321s and A319 on UK domestic flights, and the same in Europe.
Say its flying 2 return sectors a day, having a smaller plane might be a good fit for an extra service each day with the larger passenger capacity for the morning and evening peaks. Thats a smarter way to grow capacity than just upsize all your existing flights.
With the Airbus fleet BA has a weird ‘Club Europe’ seating where they have only the middle seat vacant, much better to have a plane like the C100 or Cs300 where they can have a proper business class seating with 4 across.
The real cincher for the CSeries is the quiet engines , and while I dont know the specific noise restrictions at Europes airports, they will be a big advantage for very early and late night flights
eg Munich 10pm -midnight and 5-6am- “flights that do not cause a mean noise level higher than 75 dB(A) at the noise measurement stations in the vicinity of Munich Airport ”
This would mean a quiet plane like CS100 could operate more sectors per day if you have a bigger operating window.
Not sure how noise levels of 76 dB(A) within the cabin relate to the 75 dB(A) off-peak restrictions at Munich Josef Strauss.
76 dB(A) sounds like continuous sound level (LAeq) within the aircraft while the 75 dB(A) are peak level (LAmax) received on the ground at special measurement points around EDDM. So the received level at other points could be higher or lower.
That seems related to German aircraft noise law to keep the noise contour night small so the airport has to pay less for improved building insulation.
They don’t.
Its a complete disconnect and you cannot compare one to the other!