The past year for the airline industry (and everybody else) has been rough with the soaring gas prices. As fuel prices eat the profit of airline carriers, they have responded by dumping older, less efficient jets,lowering flying speeds and carrying less weight - not to mention charging for checked bags.
This week, however, the airlines got a bit of good news when Canadian conglomerate Bombardier announced its intention to release the CSeries in 2013, a passenger jet which it claims will use 20% less fuel than its nearest competitor.
While the jet will be marketed as the “greenest” model on the market, the real attraction for the airline industry is the cash that they will save on fuel expenses. According to analyst Jacques Kavafian, the CSeries can be expected to save airlines up to $3 million over a Boeing 737, and even more over older models.
According to Bombardier, German airline Lufthansa has already expressed interest in buying up several of the jets. Carrying between 110 and 130 passengers, the cost of a CSeries plane will be approximately $46.7 million.
