Canadian multinational aerospace company Bombardier Aerospace has introduced a game changing line of aircraft, the Bombardier CSeries. The CSeries is a family of narrow-body, twin-engine, medium-range, fuel efficient jet airliners that happen to still be under development–the series has been under development for over six years now. The two models currently under development are the 110-seat CS100 and the 135-seat CS300, while a larger CS500 is rumored to be in the design stages as well. Not only did Bombardier Aerospace claim that the CSeries will be the most advanced plane of its kind in the 100 to 150 seat category, but Group Chief Executive Pierre Beaudoin has also said the new CSeries could boost the company’s revenues by as much as a quarter. The cost of a CS100 currently stands at $62 million, while a CS300 costs up to $71 million. Built to compete with the Boeing 737 Series, the Airbus A320 family, and the Embraer 195 regional jet, Bombardier expects the CSeries to burn 20 percent less fuel per trip than its aforementioned competitors. The ultra fuel efficient CSeries is the first “clean sheet design” regional jet in a decade, featuring partial-composite and advanced aluminum construction, ducted turbofans, two Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engines, a maximum range of 2,950 miles, a maximum speed of Mach .82, and comfortable cabin and passenger arrangement, making it the most advanced plane of its kind.

In July 2004, Bombardier Aerospace announced the development of the CSeries family of airliners and expected the aircraft to be available by 2013. The program–projected to cost $3.5 billion–was supported and partially funded by the federal governments of Canada and the United Kingdom, as well as the provincial government of Quebec. However, Bombardier announced in January 2006 that it would not go forward with its plans to develop the CSeries after failing to secure significant orders at that point in time. A year later, the program was restarted. In July 2008, Bombardier Aerospace officially launched the CSeries with a letter of interest for 60 aircraft from Lufthansa, the largest airline in Europe. Over the next few years, the CSeries underwent numerous redesigns, leading to delayed first flights, deliveries, and the jet’s official entry into service–as of this year, 243 CSeries regional jets have been ordered, while none have been delivered. Finally, in March of last year, Bombardier Aerospace presented the first completed CSeries aircraft to the public and took its maiden flight of September 16, 2013 from Mirabel Airport north of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Four test crafts have since been flown, with the latest suffering an unconfined turbine engine failure that caused the test program to be suspended indefinitely–the problem had been identified as a fault in the lubrication system. After slashing its workforce and changing the company’s management in August of this year, Bombardier Aerospace resumed flight testing last month.

Scroll down for more photos of the Bombardier CSeries and a video demonstrating the first test flight for the third CSeries aircraft. For more information on the company’s series of regional jets, visit bombardier.com.

Video by Bombardier Aerospace/YouTube.com

Photos by Bombardier/airwaysnews.com