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World’s First C Series 100 Commercial Flight on LX

World’s First C Series 100 Commercial Flight on LX

Old Jul 18, 2016, 2:08 am
  #1  
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World’s First C Series 100 Commercial Flight on LX

Trip Report – World’s First C Series 100 Commercial Flight on LX



Flying the first flight of a new aircraft is definitely an “once in a lifetime” experience, and while I miss out on the A380, Boeing 787, and Airbus A350, I just cannot miss out on another unique “first flight” experience. There is no question that Bombardier’s C Series CS100 has experienced many ups and downs throughout its planning and production phase, and of course finding a buyer. However, the final product is simply a beauty, and in my opinion, CS100 is definitely the best regional jet available, and its comfort level matches the Airbus A320 family, and surpasses the Boeing 737 family even the Next Generation. While individual airlines determine many factors in terms of seat pitch, width, and manufacturer. At least, the five abreast seating is more comfortable than most narrow-body planes, and the width is noticeable. On my first segment, I flew economy and despite three regular sized men, including me, who is a big guy, I don’t feel my shoulder bumping into the off duty pilot next to me. Swiss uses a great ZIM seat, but of course 30 inches of legroom is unimpressive. However given it is 30 inches legroom, you don’t feel too crowded. At the same time, I think Swiss makes a mistake in not giving the first section extra legroom. Business class seats should get at least one or two extra inches of legroom. When I flew Helvetic Airlines (Swiss’ partner) Fokker 100 the next day from Zurich to Warsaw, the extra legroom (or the missing business class legroom on CS100) is noticeable. I have originally expected little from Swiss on the celebration side because the flights were not particularly expensive and Swiss had done lots of press flights beforehand. In the end, I found out that Swiss actually had planned a big party and water canon salutes in both ends. Unfortunately due to the attack on Nice on Bastille Day, Swiss has to cancel the water canon salute and make the inaugural much more low profile. I personally feel that some party elements should be reduced and it would look really bad if they played loud party music, but water canon salutes would still be nice. I also want to note that Swiss claims that thirty-five minutes turnaround is possible on the CS100, but have issues with how they schedule these early flights, when various airport ground team learns about the plane. It is really unrealistic and please be prepared for some delays if you are flying CS100 during these early days.

I flew all four segments of the CS100 first day of commercial operation and was perhaps the only enthusiast, who did this act. However I appreciate the cabin crews not finding this passion for airplanes strange, unlike their American counterparts. The three cabin crews worked all three flights, and the purser could not be any better, kinder, or understanding. I could not understand his German name, but just wanted to give him credits and a high score. For those readers, who don’t want to read my poor written English, you can go directly to my photo album. There are over 400 pictures, but I hope you will enjoy it. I will also provide the link to a more professional article written by Chris Sloan at Airways.com. It gives you more professional rundown of the event.

Full album link:
http://s1213.photobucket.com/user/Ca...duled%20Flight

Link to Airways’ article:
https://airwaysmag.com/traveler/onbo...evenue-flight/

Booking:
Swiss’ website is pretty straightforward and easy to use. I have originally planned to fly only a roundtrip between Zurich and Paris, but since I want to try out both business and economy, I play around with various combinations. From Zurich to Paris, I decide to fly coach, and from Paris to Zurich, coach fares are pretty high, so I just randomly try Paris to Budapest route, it is actually more affordable than I have thought. For the last three segments, I just stay with business. For the first segment, I want to try out the exit row and the cost is 30 Swiss Franc, which is reasonable. Of course, on the day of departure, I was moved to Row 12, as Row 10 was being sold as business class. Swiss, as of now, still refused to refund me that 30CHF because they claim that there is no extra legroom in exit row and Row 12 is identical, which is of course not. I made a point of snapping pictures of Row 10, so I could send them to Swiss. That is perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the day.
July 15, 2016
LX 638 ZRH-CDG Lv1230 Arr1350 Bombardier C Series CS100 HB-JBA “Kanton Zürich”

Check-in:

There was no special check-in area for the CS100’s inaugural flight, and Swiss’ check-in hall 1 was purely chaotic. For Swiss, I wad baffled a bit by how the queues were poorly organized. The main problem was not the baggage drop off lines, but the lines to use the kiosks to print out boarding passes. There is no single queue system and there are lines in front of each kiosk, and the hall was so crowded. Swiss definitely needs to reorganize the queuing system. For business class, they also separate out the baggage drop off and business class normal check-in queues. Swiss offers automatic check-in, which means that they will email you the boarding passes for your flight 24 hours prior to departure. So I just used the machine for the first segment, and for the last three segments, I printed them out the day before. Now I regretted not going to the regular business class lines to get four real boarding passes.

Good-looking Swiss check-in agent


There was a priority security queues for premium class and elite passengers, and they are all automatic. No need to argue, and TSA should consider this system. I went through security within ten minutes and first stopped by gate B34. Since they were still setting up, I decided to stop by the Senator lounge, which was not too crazily crowded, and I found a seat and got myself a snack before the flight.




When I went back to the gate second time, things were already set up with a buffet featuring strawberry tarts, sweets, sandwiches, as well as champagne, orange juice, and water.




HB-JBA at the gate










The COO of Swiss International Airlines, Markus Binkert, was already at the gate along with Dominique Rinderknecht, Miss Switzerland of 2013, who was the Swiss ambassador today. There were a few aviation enthusiasts, as expected, and Markus gave us some recognition in the speech. The distinguished Guinness winner of flying the most inaugural flights, Thomas Lee and his wife, were also at the gate chatting Swiss and bombardier staffs. The superstar of the day was the fleet chief and head of the C Series, Peter Koch, and he was very friendly and chatting with all the guests and passengers. I managed to get him signing my inaugural flight certificates.




Markus made a welcoming speech first thanking everyone, and of course explaining that many of the planned festivities were canceled because of the event at Nice the evening before. Anyway, there were the usual speeches, but I really love how Markus and Swiss Airlines presented Thomas a special first flight certificate for him to put in his office, along with his other first flight certificates including the 747. Markus also gave him a plane model of CS100. There was also a ribbon cutting ceremony by all these parties, which was nice.




Ribbon cutting



There were a few more gate agents than normal, as many passengers had issues with seat assignment. I had my seat assignment issue, and the agent claimed that there was no Row 10. Then there was a couple that paid for two seats together, but got separated. In the end, business class went a bit fuller than expected with all the invited guests, so row 1-10 are all business class. I expected better by Swiss, but it was their first day with the aircraft, so I got to give him some slacks, except the refusal to refund my seat fee.

Boarding began at 12:07pm and the cabin crews were all smiles, especially the purser. The other two female F/As were a bit younger and more stressed. They were friendly and professional, but just a bit tenser.






Here were some of my first shots of the cabin:


The first impression was pretty amazing and you cannot really tell that you are in a regional jet. It is honestly more like a typical narrowbody aisle aircraft. I love the high ceiling and most tall guys can stand up straight up. The overhead bins were nicely designed.

Three abreast side



Two abreast side



Legroom is 30 inches throughout the plane, but the design of ZIM seat makes you feel more legroom. For the short flights CS100 will fly, I think it is okay.


Legroom shot for Row 12


Middle seat


Window seat – note any difference?


I love how the seats are upholstered and the silver rims, which made the cabin looking elegant, smart and stylish.

Literature pocket as expected on the top


There are two small pockets for bottled beverages and other small items.


“ZIM” branding


Tray table with two-cup slots


However, the new seats don’t have personal TVs, as expected, but I was surprised that power outlets, not even USB power ports, are installed on the new seats. Surely those flights are short, but there are plenty of delays in major European airports. It is still a bit strange that new generation of passenger seat from a major airline doesn’t have these power outlets. I hope Swiss can eventually add this feature.

Notice the lovely larger windows, which seem to be the trend… I definitely love this trend, and as Markus said during his speech, we might all need sunglasses for the flight due to the additional natural lights into the cabin.


New CS100 safety card



My first of many wing shots of the day


Overhead panel with typical light switches and call buttons


New invention – an expanded concept from A350 – these small screens above each rows of seat – they played safety demo and flight map throughout the flight. It was a nice feature.


Everyone was boarded quickly and despite all the busy activities, door managed to close at 12:35pm. However there was all the suddenly an announcement that the pilot called for another pilot to come to the cockpit. It was not a good sign. In the end, there was some minor issue with auxiliary power units detaching from the ground equipment. The pilots kept us informed and most people were not bothered with first day glitch.

The cabin crew and Miss Switzerland 2013 took the opportunities to pass out the goodies for the world’s first CS100 Commercial flight, including inaugural flight certificate, and a CS100 dice model to all passengers.




Things were finally fixed but there was an additional 15 minutes delay due to ATC. The fleet chief then took the chance to chat with passengers and signing autograph. He continued to do so after the flight took off.

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Lee were seated across from me at 12AB and a reporter was at 12D, so our rows saw many activities. Just wish I could speak German and had a better idea on what was going on.

We finally pushed back at 1:11pm and headed towards the line of planes.



After two pings at 1:30pm, HB-JBA roared down R/W28 and took its first group of paid passengers into the sky. It was a beautiful takeoff. There was some humming noise during taxi, similar to the A320 families, but the noise level on takeoff was definitely quieter than most jets. We actually only climbed to 18,000ft and stayed there for the whole flight.





Seat belt sign was turned off five minutes after takeoff, and the F/As immediately swung into actions. There are three F/As for CS100 flights, and with a larger business class cabin, only one F/A was initially handling the economy cabin.


I was not sure about the usual catering in economy on this route, but a ciabatta sandwich with turkey and sundried tomato mayonnaise was offered, and the beverage choices included champagne in real glasses today. Since I was not feeling too well after drinking the mimosa on the ground, I stayed away from it. Many people took advantage of it though.




Miss Switzerland was in charge of the chocolate duties and Swiss is still passing out these Euro Cup inspired chocolate soccer balls.


Peter Koch was socializing with passengers


One final shot of the wing before switching seat with this Canadian journalist… this reporter was assigned an aisle seat and had asked me to give him a chance to snap some pictures. Of course I could not say “no” to a nicely dressed man and since he had the equipment and I used an iPhone, I moved to the aisle to let him take over the window.


We had a small chat later and came in from Vancouver on Edelweiss to report on this new Paris flight. He spoke German so spent sometime chatting with the off duty pilot next to us and couple other folks.

Pictures from the aisle



We landed on R/W26L at 2:24pm and parked at gate 66/stand 606 nine minutes later. There was of course clapping on arrival.

The purser had also made an announcement that Swiss had made special arrangement for the folks returning to Zurich immediately, and asked us to wait at the end of the jetway.

I have to take a photo of Row 10 and better quality towards the last leg.


HB-JBA at Paris CDG – unfortunately, I really could not get really good photos of the plane today. We had jet bridges for all flights, and these gates don’t allow good pictures.


LX 639 CDG-ZRH Lv1515 Arr1630 Bombardier C Series CS100 HB-JBA “Kanton Zürich”

There was another small reception here in Paris, and most of them are in French. I did not stayed much, as I was desperate to get my phone charged.


Nice buffet with cakes and chocolates




More souvenirs – CS100 baggage tags and pens and profiles in French


Gift exchanges between Paris CDG staff and Markus


Ribbon cutting


Since we were already running late, boarding began literally second after Markus cut the ribbon at 3:02pm. There were many passengers, who were not aware of the inaugural nature of the flight, and did not take part of the ceremony.




For this leg, I got 3A, and of course, the seat next to me was blocked. There was one good thing on these 2-3 configurations, and you will get a pair of seats to yourself on the A/B side.


Legroom shot – no different from my first segment


Signature Swiss’ pre-takeoff service – one of the few European airlines, which offer some form of pre-takeoff beverages on these intra-European business class flights – bottled waters and refreshing towels


Better wing shot


Door was closed at 3:24pm and we pushed back three minutes later.


We took off from R/W27L at 2:39pm, and we climbed to 29,000ft for the fifty minutes return flights to Zurich.




Tray table – it can be extended



Beautiful wing shot


For business class, there was a light refreshment service, which was a smoked salmon and cream cheese brioche sandwich with a Vanilla mousse with apple compote in the bottom. It was a nice snack for the short flight. I got a cup of tea, which was served in paper cup due to the short flights.




Chief pilot passing out flight certificates and signing my certificate, and there is no dice model for this flight.



Two certificates side by side – note that the planes are shown in different direction…


Close up of the seats – the upholstery is amazing and I love all the stitches


Leather headrest cover(s)


Miss Switzerland was seating in Row 4, but since she was not in her seat during most of the flight, I took the chance to recline the seat. I don’t recline my seat on these narrow-body planes as a courtesy to the passengers behind me.
Recline of the seats was okay and not sure if you can notice it though.



Passing some clouds


Carfield is offline  
Old Jul 18, 2016, 2:11 am
  #2  
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We landed on R/W27L at 4:29pm and parked at gate A83/Stand A17 a few minutes later.






Some cabin shots




Swissair A321 next door


For those continuing to Budapest, we just exited from the gate on top.


LX 2258 ZRH-BUD Lv1730 Arr1905 Bombardier C Series CS100 HB-JBA “Kanton Zürich”


Once again, no great shot was possible.


I really needed to charge my phone and after walking down the whole Pier A, I could not find charging stations or any outlets. I ended up going back to the lounge for maybe ten minutes to get them charge. Since I got enough cabin shots, I decided to board last. As of the third flight, not many passengers were even aware of that that they are flying on a brand new plane and this is its first day of operation and third scheduled flight. Due to our late arrival, the F/As were busy getting this plane for its flight to Budapest. Boarding began at 5:10pm and door was closed at 5:28pm.

I chose 1A for this segment, and while the legroom shot seemed better than other rows. There is actually less space for my feet. I don’t recommend row 1.


Row 1 obviously does not allow the armrests to be raised… tray table comes from the side. Pretty easy to operate!




More shots of these cute small screens showing our next leg to Budapest


Few shots while we taxied to R/W28…




After the two ping sounds, we took off at 5:49pm for our one hour and thirteen minutes flight to Budapest. Our routing took us towards St. Gallen and Oberstdorf before reaching our cruising altitude of 35,000feet, and then passing Kitzbuhel, Speilberg, Szombathely, and Sarvar, before arriving Budapest.





Business class is much more reasonable with five rows of seats, so the purser was more relaxed in serving the meal. He addressed each passenger by name, and there were a more substantial cold meal offered on this flight. There were warmed bread rolls too.

Roast beef tenderloin with Potato salad, tomato and caper sauce, along with two kinds of cheese and a cup of Mango pudding/panna cotta topped with mango and strawberry coulis






Swiss chocolate was passed out after the cold meal service.

I also had a chance to visit the bathroom in the forward cabin. The design was really nice, and while I was initially afraid of those Space flex lavatories, CS100 bathroom, at least in the front, looks decently sized. There is an infant changing table, along with smart faucet and water sink design. Unfortunately, there were issues with the water system on this segment, and there was no water coming out from the faucet. I asked for some refreshing towels and got my own disinfectant napkins. I hope it is just a teething problem and continue to not understand why regional jets especially Bombardier products have issues with providing running water. EMB-170/175/190/195 regional jets have no issues.






Descend soon began at 6:42pm and the pilot announced that we received a shortcut.




We landed on R/W31R at 7:02pm and parked at stand “45”/gate A10 five minutes later.
Despite our slightly early arrival, it took a while for the ground staff to attach the jetbridge. They were very careful with the new plane.

Transit at Budapest was easy. I exited the plane into the arrival atrium and then walked up the stairs back to the gate area. There were no charging stations, but I managed to find a power outlet at the gate. My phone was dead by now. I was relieved.

LX 2259 BUD-ZRH Lv1945 Arr2130 Bombardier C Series CS100 HB-JBA “Kanton Zürich”


For some reasons, Swiss decides to schedule a 35 minutes turn on this segment, which is beyond idealistic under even the most optimistic scenario, not to mention a brand new plane.

Once again, most passengers were not aware of flying a new plane on its first day of operation, but I spotted a few enthusiasts flying this flight. Many passengers were also taking pictures of the plane, as it looked nice.

I managed a better angle to snap a few pictures.



I love the Swiss branding.


A cockpit picture LOL


Main Entrance


Boarding began at 7:33pm and I was amazed that the three F/As were still in good spirits. It must be hard working these short intra-European flights. It was harder than long distance flights for sure.

Overhead bin – almost forget – really nice design and can hold typical roller on suitcases


I was in Row 5 for this segment right next to the engine, but there were already some scratches in the window.


Legroom shot of Row 5 – same as other non-exit rows


Door was closed at 8:02pm and push back did not happen till 8:17pm, as the ground staffs were still loading bags. I think a 60 minutes turnaround is more reasonable for the first couple months of operations, especially on new CS100 destinations. This is a brand new plane that no other airlines have yet to use.


The purser always made his welcoming announcement facing the passengers – very consistent on all four segments.


Safety demo on the little screens


Sunset over Budapest airport




A group of Budapest Airport staffs photographing our departures


We took off from R/W31L at 8:32pm for our short hour and twelve minutes flight back to Zurich at 40,000ft. These CS-100s can definitely cruise at higher altitude.






For economy class, a sandwich was offered and for business class, a snack tray was offered featuring a modern version of Tino Vitello, which is sliced veal with a tuna mousse topped with diced tomato and capters. There was a small plate of cheese and then a dessert cup of Vanilla Panna Cotto with apple compote. Warmed breads were of course offered, and the service was great. The F/As were very familiar with the equipment by now. Unfortunately the failure of the water system had affected the tea/coffee service, as no hot water was available.







On this flight, I finally realized that all the armrests are moveable and can be lifted.





The coat hook on the side


As it is summertime here in Europe now, the day hours can be long. The sun was finally setting on our approach.




We landed on R/W28 at 9:44pm and parked at gate B38 four minutes later.


This time I waited to deplane last so I could get a few more cabin pictures.







Exit row – Row 10 – new exit window design – it does feature a few more inches of legroom, but you will have to learn forward to look out from the windows.




In conclusion, it was a really great experience flying the world’s first commercial CS100 flight. Despite the slightly more low profile event, it is still a memorable experience for any aviation enthusiast. Bombardier has truly come up with a great product and I think the competition from Embraer really forces Bombardier to think about the passengers’ experiences. CS100 is a wonderful regional jet and can definitely compete against the current generation of Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family, especially in terms of comfort. For Swiss’ operation, I never expect fancy amenities like Personal TV or mood lighting, but power outlets is something that IMHO no longer optional. They are must-have items, so Swiss only falls short in that aspect. Other than that small matter, the plane is beautiful and the ZIM seats are great. Those seats are just elegantly done, and for economy class passengers, most passengers will like the new seats, and the middle seat passengers will at least get slightly wider seats. For business class, even European type, the seat pitch needs to be better, and since Lufthansa has finally rescinded its move on providing same seat pitch between J and Y with more legroom in business class rows on the A320neos, I think Swiss really has to buck this trend too. London City flights are not cheap and with no lounge access at LCY, I think passengers in business class want a bit more at least one or two extra inches of legroom. Now I really look forward to flying the inaugural CS300. Flying Air Baltic is a bit more challenging, but we will wait and see. Congrats to Bombardier and Swiss International Air Lines on the successful Bombardier CS100 launch!



Thanks for reading!
Carfield

PS. Now I really want the Trudeau government and Toronto city government can work on a compromise on the Toronto Billy Bishop City Airport situation. These CS100s and CS300s will work well with Porter Airlines’ customer-friendly images. I can totally imagine myself flying C Series from Toronto City to Calgary, Edmonton, and even Vancouver.
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Old Jul 18, 2016, 5:22 am
  #3  
 
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this is a great read, i'm hoping WS are going to pick some up and i can use these on the YYZ-YQT routes
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Old Jul 18, 2016, 8:07 am
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Great report! These look like really nice little aircraft. I reckon the E170/175/190/195 aircraft are the most comfortable narrowbody aircraft to fly on, as they have 2+2 layout and in my experience always seem to have decent seat pitch, but these look like they will raise the bar further.

I'm really struck by how large the engines appear on this, almost in the same way that a 777s engines seem huge (though obviously scaled down to the smaller size of this aircraft). For example:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CmSgCZrW8AE-ngP.jpg
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam...xlarge-169.jpg
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PRM-NAj63g8/maxresdefault.jpg

It just *looks* powerful - like the little jet airplane who could!
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Old Jul 18, 2016, 10:51 am
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Nice report. Thanks for posting.
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Old Jul 18, 2016, 5:36 pm
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Great report and pictures! You are a true fan! I would give u gold if flyertalk had such a thing!

So the difference in seats is that the middle is wider?

And who was the journalist ? Did i overlook the photo? Peter?
Also, one can only hope the liberal govt will allow porter to fly them out of the island. Fingers crossed!!!
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Old Jul 18, 2016, 5:38 pm
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Ahhh ok, just read the link i had opened when reading this. Chris Sloan is the journalist
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