Bombardier announces mystery $1 bn order

Aircraft manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace announced Sunday that it had secured a $1 billion conditional order from an undisclosed new customer to produce 15 planes from its future CSeries. The company said in a statement that the deal was for five CS100 and 10 CS300 jetliners, both of which are scheduled to enter service in late 2013, but the buyer wanted to remain anonymous at this stage. Based on the list prices of the aircraft, the deal is valued at $1.02 billion, the company said, contending that the CSeries will deliver significant fuel savings of around 20 percent, compared to other mid-range aircraft. The CS100 (110 seats) and CS300 (130 seats) planes aim to compete with similar aircraft produced by Bombardier's main rivals, Boeing and Airbus. To date, Bombardier has booked firm orders for 138 CSeries airliners, with clients including Korean Air and the German carrier Lufthansa.