Bombardier C-series to take to the air in maiden flight

Bombardier, the aerospace company that has a major plant in Belfast, has said that its C-series jet will fly for the first time tomorrow. .

The announcement ends more than eight months of delays for the $3.4 billion programme intended to challenge Boeing and Airbus.

The test flight will take off from Mirabel airport north of Montreal, Bombardier said in a statementtoday. It has been reported that the C-Series programme will generate 800 jobs in Northern Ireland once it is in full production. The Belfast operation is responsible for the design, manufacture and integration of the complete wing for the C-Series aircraft.

Chief executive Pierre Beaudoin is relying on the aircraft, the company's largest ever, as a catalyst for almost doubling annual revenue towards the end of the decade. – (Bloomberg)