Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) CEO Richard Anderson has confirmed his airline is seriously considering the C-Series from Bombardier Aerospace (BBA, Montréal Trudeau) ahead of the type's commercial debut with Swiss (LX, Zurich) during the second quarter of the year.
During an earnings call this week, Anderson praised the twinjet's innovative technology adding that for the right price, it could be an attractive option.
"You know they brought the C-Series to Atlanta right before Christmas and we met with Fred Cromer, President of Bombardier, and it’s a pretty impressive airplane," he said. "The geared turbofan is really the first big innovation since the Boeing 787 revolutionized the composite structure for the body the fuselage of the airplane. So, we actually think that at right price it’s quite a competitive airplane particular given the engine technology. So we’re taking a very serious look at it."
The Canadian manufacturer has pitched both the A220-100 and A220-300 to North American carriers such as JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK), United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare), Air Canada (AC, Montréal Trudeau), and Southwest Airlines (WN, Dallas Love Field) in the hopes of beefing up the C-Series' anaemic order book. Thus far, the CS100 has secured firm orders for a paltry fifty-three aircraft while the larger CS300 has secured 190.
In December 2015, Bombardier announced that the CS100 aircraft had received its Type Certificate from Transport Canada with the CS300 on track to obtain its Type Certificate within the next six months.
