MONTREAL – Bombardier says aviation authorities in Europe and the United States have now certified its CS100 series passenger planes, clearing the way for delivery of the aircraft to Swiss International Air Lines by the end of the month.
The Swiss carrier is scheduled to be the first to put the plane into commercial service in July.
Certification from the Federal Aviation Administration in the U.S. and the European Aviation Safety Agency follows a similar decision by Transport Canada in December 2015.
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Montreal-based Bombardier has a lot riding on the success of the CSeries aircraft, which is two years behind schedule and has incurred about US$2 billion in cost overruns.
Bombardier received a major boost in late April when Delta Air Lines placed a firm order for 75 CS100 aircraft with options for another 50 in a deal the company said was worth approximately US$5.6 billion.
Bombardier said delivery of the aircraft to Delta, one of the largest airlines in the world, is expected to begin in 2018.
On Monday, Premier Philippe Couillard said Quebec is on track to finalize its US$1 billion investment in Bombardier’s CSeries program and that a deal should be in place by the end of the month.
Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau earlier said the government continues to talk with Bombardier about providing US$1 billion in funding.
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