Bombardier Sticks to CSeries Flight Test Schedule
The CSeries CS100 remains on the ground as Bombardier works through the “complexities” of preparing it for first flight. (Photo: Bombardier)
The CSeries CS100 remains on the ground as Bombardier works through the “complexities” of preparing it for first flight. (Photo: Bombardier)

Bombardier continues to cite a 12-month flight-test schedule for the CSeries airliner, notwithstanding repeated delays to first flight that have now pushed expected entry into service to August next year at the earliest. Speaking Thursday during the company’s second-quarter earnings call, Bombardier CEO Pierre Beaudoin attempted to refute reports that the company has begun “reassessing” the timespan between first flight and service entry. Although he characterized the test plan as “busy,” Beaudoin refused to concede that the problems the company has experienced in executing first flight would in any way influence the timing of the certification effort.