LUXEMBOURG: December 22, 2016. SWISS has begun service to Luxembourg with its new Bombardier CS 100 aircraft.

SWISS, which was the aircraft's launch customer this year with a first flight from Zurich to Paris, is in the process of replacing its fleet of four-engine Avro RJ100s on short and medium-haul routes and has  ordered 30 aircraft - 15 CS100s and 15 of the larger CS300 - for delivery by July 2017.

"Related to comparable aircraft types, it is 10-15 decibels quieter and the fuel consumption and its carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced up to 25 percent", commented Michael Gloor, SWISS senior director Sales France & Benelux.

Luxembourg is the airline's latest destination with the new aircraft that also includes Paris, Manchester, Prague, Budapest, Warsaw and Brussels.

René Steinhaus, commercial director of the airport's management company lux-Airport noted: "All airlines flying at Luxembourg Airport are always operating aircraft of the newest technology. We are very pleased to see today the generation change from the Avro jet to the C Series, which is 50 percent quieter and is reducing emissions."

Last month Ryanair added Stansted and Porto to its Luxembourg-based network that will also include Madrid, Lisbon and Milan Bergamo from March next year.

With direct services to 72 destinations, lux-Airport handled 737,625 tonnes of freight in 2015, a rise of 4.2 percent year-on-year.

In a related move, Bombardier has delivered the first CRJ200 Special Freighter (left) to launch operator Gulf & Caribbean Cargo branded 'IFL Group' and based in Waterford, Michigan.

The aircraft was converted by Aeronautical Engineers in Miami and includes a 94 in. x 77 in. cargo door, positions for eight standard half pallets and a payload of 6,700 kgs.

“To date, we have received commitments for 45 aircraft conversions from a variety of operators and we fully expect to convert over 100 aircraft over the life of the program,” said Robert Convey, vice president, Sales and Marketing, Aeronautical Engineers.

“I believe that most CRJ100SF, CRJ200SF aircraft will be operated on longer-range regional services with thin demand that require the speed of a jet but can’t support larger narrow-body freighters,” he added.