Bombardier CSeries: Jet gets commercial clearance

Bombardier has hailed an "historic moment" for the company, after its CSeries passenger jet obtained clearance to enter commercial service.

The wings for the new aircraft will be made in Belfast, supporting 800 jobs.

Certification of the CS100 was received from Transport Canada after 3,000 hours of test flying.

The move paves the way for the first passenger flights with Swiss International Air Lines early next year.

Michael Ryan, vice-president of Bombardier Belfast, said: "This is an achievement of which all our employees and our supply chain should be justly proud."

The CSeries project has been troubled by delays and a $2bn (£1.34m) cost overrun.

Firm orders have been stuck at 243 since late 2014.

The CSeries - versions of which seat between 110 to 150 - is the firm's attempt to expand from executive jets into a market dominated by Airbus and Boeing.

The programme has placed Bombardier under huge financial strain, prompting a bail-out from the provincial government in Quebec earlier this year.

Certification is a milestone for the CSeries and Bombardier needs it to be a momentum-changer.

2015 ends with a zero in the sales column and certification must now reinvigorate the order book.

Bombardier will look to turn the corner in 2016, but it will not happen quickly.

Investors have been told to expect lower profits and 20% savings need to be made in its Belfast operations.

When a CSeries test plane flew to Belfast in June, a worker, admiring the aircraft, told me: "All we have got to do now is sell it."

Six months later - with certification at last obtained - sales now become an even greater priority.

But the company is at least ending a gloomy year on a celebratory note.

Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell said: "I congratulate the whole team at Bombardier and especially Michael Ryan and his staff in Belfast on this marvellous achievement.

"This is a hugely significant development and the last major milestone ahead of the aircraft's entry into commercial service."