February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
More than 450 people are involved in the construction of the new facility at Queen’s Island and a further 400 will be involved in the manufacturing process for the new “CSeries” aircraft, which is set to come on stream in 2013.
The CSeries, which will be equipped with 110 or 130 passenger seats, will be the company’s biggest plane to date and will propel Bombardier into direct competition with Boeing and Airbus for the first time,” the Irish News reported.
“We are currently testing and proving out the design, manufacturing and assembly processes for the CSeries aircraft wing. We are making excellent progress and are very pleased with the results so far. We are delighted that Bombardier Belfast’s capabilities and skills, as well as the wider economy, will benefit strongly from the CSeries aircraft program,” said Michael Ryan, vice president and general manager of Bombardier Aerospace, Belfast.
Production of the CSeries is expected to run for 15 to 20 years. At peak production, it is expected that up to 800 workers will be employed at the Belfast facility.