Bombardier delivers first C Series jetliner to the Swiss

Bombardier on Wednesday delivered its first C Series airliner to launch customer Swiss International Airlines.

The delivery ceremony occurred early Wednesday afternoon at Bombardier’s Mirabel, Quebec, facilities.

The CS100 will enter service on July 15, with its inaugural revenue flight planned for Zurich, Switzerland, to Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport.

Swiss International, which is owned by German airline Lufthansa, is scheduled to take additional C Series narrow-body airliners to replace its Avro RJ100 fleet, although Bombardier did not disclose specifics of the Swiss C Series order.

The delivery comes a day after Air Canada firmed up an order for 45 CS300 airliners, a larger C Series variant. It also comes less than a week after the parent of Wichita’s Learjet reached a definitive agreement with the government of Quebec for a $1 billion investment in the C Series program.

Under the agreement, the assets, liabilities and obligations of the C Series program will be transferred to a new limited partnership, which will be 50.5 percent owned by Bombardier and 49.5 percent owned by Quebec.

The investment is intended to shore up Bombardier’s cash supply, which has been drained by delays and rising costs to develop the C Series.

This story was originally published June 29, 2016 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Bombardier delivers first C Series jetliner to the Swiss."