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| MairBaltic Bombardier CS300 aircraft. Photo: Bombardier |
[Avionics Magazine 09-29-2016] Bombardier Commercial Aircraft has announced that its CS300 jetliner, the second CS300 flight test vehicle, has embarked on a series of European and Middle Eastern route-proving flights alongside first operator airBaltic of Latvia. The flights — which will operate from the airline’s base in Riga and include stops in Vilnius, Lithuania, Tallinn, Estonia and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates — will use airBaltic air and ground operational practices.
“It’s exciting for the airBaltic team to welcome the CS300 to its home base in Riga for the first time to see the aircraft simulate operations in our route system that covers much of Europe — all in advance of our first delivery later this fall,” said Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer, airBaltic.
With a firm order for 20 CS300 airliners — which will eventually join airBaltic’s 12 Q400 turboprops — the airline will gradually transition to an all-Bombardier fleet. The route-proving flights provide a good indication of how the aircraft will perform in typical day-to-day airline operations by observing airfield performance, airport turnaround times and on-ground operations at various airports.