The analysis yield some interesting findings, including a approximately 800ft advantage in field takeoff length (TOFL) and a 22.5% advantage in per seat fuel burn for the CS100ER. Can the CS100ER perform the mission? The answer appears to be yes.
If the carrier materializes, as Odyssey looks to take on British Airways at London City, it will be armed with a significant fuel burn advantage. Though history is littered with failed all-premium trans-atlantic airlines; Maxjet (767), EOS (757), L'Avion (757) and Silverjet (767) to name four.
In 2009, former Bombardier president of commercial aircraft Gary Scott said that the company sees a "very lucrative" niche market for longer-range all-premium configuration and it appears that this is beginning to take shape as Odyssey aims to buck the trend of its predecessors and pin its fate to the edge of the CS100's operating envelope.
While its initial competitive landscape is the two British Airways aircraft on the route across the pond, Odyssey is up against all of the oneworld alliance and its feeder traffic into and out of London and New York. Those carriers also have the benefit of trans-Atlantic anti-trust immunity, enabling fierce pricing and schedule tactics against the newcomer.
For Bombardier, the potential operations out of London City are an outlier for the CS100 and CS300's typical 125 to 149-seat airline operations when viewed in light of the estimated 6,700 aircraft market segment for the type. Odyssey will seek to highlight the aircraft's performance with its specific business model, though its type of operations will likely not anchor the commercial program.
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