Kavafian has backed away from that launch prediction somewhat. He now says: "The timing for the CSeries could not get any better and we believe that the aircraft will be launched this year; it may or may not be at Farnborough this July."

Howevver, in his latest research note, Kavafian says soaring fuel prices "make the CSeries very compelling to the extent that we believe it now seriously threatens the Boeing 737-700 as a viable product". The potential market, he estimates, may exceed the 6,000 that Bombardier has estimated over the next 20 years.

Kavafian argues that the CSeries will have a minimum $3.1 million per year operating cost advantage over the newest product such as the Boeing 737-700 and over $6 million cost advantage over older aircraft models such as MD-80s and Boeing 737 Classics.

The largest advantage of the CSeries, he says, is that, according to Bombardier's estimates, the aircraft has a 21% to 29% block fuel advantage over the 737 "having similar seating capacity and passenger range".

He adds: "The economics are more compelling for the 130-seat version, but even the 110-seat version of the aircraft has cost savings over the Boeing 737-700. The main competing aircraft of the CSeries will be the Boeing 737-600, 737-700, Airbus A318 and A319."

I recently had a very interesting conversation with Henri Courpron, a former Airbus procurement chief who now heads the aerospace division at consultancy Seabury. Courpron believes "the door was left open by Airbus and Boeing" in the 100-class sector, a void that several manufacturers are now seeking to fill with large regional jets.

"From the large guys' perspective, I think it's fair to say that Airbus and Boeing's venture into the 100-seater has not been at all a success. The A318 had very limited sales and the 737-600 was not exactly a rock star either," says Courpron.

Airbus and Boeing continue to delay decisions on when they will develop successors to their highly-popular A320 and 737NG models. The two airframers are willing to take the chance that Bombardier and others will gain a portion of the small narrowbody market, says Courpron.

"For them there is a lot more at stake than just trying to play defence with what might happen with new entrants in the 100-seater market because what they need to decide for the future is what happens in the 125- to 250-seat segment. And this is where the major battle will take place. It is not around 100 seats."

At its highest density, the CSeries 130, 130ER and new 130XT variants can seat 145 passengers.

Discussions with Bombardier's owned service centres and authorized service facilities "are just happening now" but the airframer is expected to take a much more comprehensive - and integrated - approach with the CSeries MRO programme than it has with past commercial products, says Mike Kanaley, VP and general manager of fleet management and service programmes for Bombardier's services division, who was kind enough to chat with me about the Canadian airframer's MRO activities for a new Flight feature.

He says the company is looking at who will be the likely CSeries MRO service providers, as well as "working intimately with our suppliers manufacturing the aircraft to ensure overhaul capabilities are in place, and support of the aircraft from start to finish".

Boeing, of course, has already been developing its GoldCare programme to give a single contact point for 787 customers. Boeing's vice president, 787 services and support for the 787 programme, Robert Avery says he would not be surprised if Bombardier or Embraer offer similar programmes to GoldCare. "I think it can be and probably will be adapted for regionals."

The most integrated maintenance contract ever brokered between an airframer and an airline involved Airbus and now-defunct Skybus Airlines. Skybus asked Airbus and Boeing to proffer packages that would combine the purchase of new aircraft with cost-per-hour maintenance services well in advance of the carrier's mid-2007 launch. Skybus ultimately awarded Airbus a contract for 65 A319s that included integrated maintenance services. While Airbus took responsibility for the airline's maintenance, the airframer tapped Singapore Technologies Aerospace's (ST Aero) US division, Mobile Aerospace (MAE) to perform the work.

Bombardier would be prepared to offer a similar total support programme agreed between Airbus and Skybus should the need arise. "[Whether] another Skybus comes along and wants that capability in our new product [such as the CSeries] remains to be seen. But, if so, it's our obligation to find a way to make that work for both Bombardier and the customer," says Kanaley. "We also don't pretend that it's all going to be performed by Bombardier. We'd leverage our supplier networks and our leverage these, and if that works for the customer, that works for us."

In many ways, however, this more integrated business model is what Bombardier intends to pursue aggressively with its future products. And once you've aligned the supply chain and service delivery network, "it has the potential to be back-fitted into certainly the existing product lines", says Kanaley.

Photo above from the Solid Gold Dance Connection gallary at http://www.sgdanceconnection.com/gallery.html

Mitsubishi has already secured All Nippon Airways as launch customer, and is reportedly closing in on a second deal. Bombardier is rumoured to launch the CSeries at Farnborough (which runs 14-20 July) with as many as 200 orders, including 50 from China Southern.

A big draw for both aircraft is the high-bypass GTF, which is attracting increasing interest, including from former sceptics of the project. "I think what you're seeing is an industry that is starting to understand the facts and the figures, and maybe being able to separate [these] from myth," says Benjamin Boehm, director, programme management office and director of marketing, new commercial aircraft programmes at Bombardier Aerospace.

P&W recently held technical symposiums in Asia and the USA to show would-be customers what the GTF can deliver as the exclusive powerplant for both the MRJ and CSeries. "Customers are coming to us at these events we're hosting. There is absolutely a great push and emphasis on better fuel economy and better emission performance [to be made available] in a timely fashion," says Mary Ellen Jones, VP of marketing for P&W Commercial Engines.

But if you're looking for P&W to let the cat out of the bag on orders, think again. Jones sees Farnborough's July timing as somewhat of "an arbitrary date", but she has no doubt we'll see some order action this year.

The first flight of the GTF on a Boeing 747SP test-bed will occur "around the time of Farnborough", says Jones. "The biggest expectation is to have a flight test programme as successful as our ground test programme."

Clearly the GTF proposal - which promises to reduce fuel burn by at least 12% compared to current high-bypass ratio turbines - is "going in the right direction", says consultant Bob Mann, who suggests that if Bombardier and Mitsubishi can deliver on their promises "those look like some of the leading programmes in [improving] economics".

So what does Bombardier have to say as Farnborough nears? "I think the best thing for me to say of the show is that our calendar of airline face-to-face executive meetings is filling up fast and our calendar for supplier that want to get on the programme is filling up fast," says Boehm.

"That pretty much says I'm going to very busy during that week."