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Mr Beaudoin, son of the chairman Laurent Beaudoin and grandson of the founder Joseph Armand Bombardier, chose the eve of the Farnborough Airshow to announce one of the biggest gambles in the group's history - the development of a new range of commercial jets.

With four years in preparation for the decision to go ahead, and five years of development ahead, the CSeries family of 110-130 seat jets is expected to enter commercial service for the first time in 2013 with Lufthansa.

The German flag carrier, a long-time supporter of Bombardier products, is planning to buy 30, with options to buy a further 30.

Commercial aircraft projects are always long in gestation, but the CSeries project is set to transform the group's operations.

Mr Beaudoin said in an interview with the FT that by 2017-18, when peak production levels are reached, the CSeries could add $5bn of annual turnover to the group, which had sales in the last financial year to the end of January of $17.5bn.

The new chief executive was until last month the head of the group's aerospace business and executive vice-president of the group, and he has nursed the CSeries project through four long years in which it often seemed to be touch and go as to whether it would make it across the finishing line.

Bombardier is best known as a maker of business jets, where it is the world leader by the value of deliveries, and of regional commercial jets, and the CSeries will mark a brave departure from its existing markets.

In the regional jet sector the maximum size of its aircraft is the 70-90 seat category, although it is stretching an existing model up to 100 seats.

The CSeries will take it into new territory of 110-130 seats, although the larger variant will offer up to 145 seats in a dense all-economy configuration.

This means that Bombardier will for the first time cross into the territory of Boeing and Airbus, the duopoly producers of big jets. Their products in this sector, the Airbus A318 and the Boeing 737-600, are not very convincing. They are heavy and shrunk versions of larger aircraft, but they could still offer tough competition in the future.

Gary Scott, president of Bombardier Aerospace's commercial aircraft division, said the group was forecasting a market for 6,500 jets in the 100-149 seat segment in the next 20 years, and Bombardier was hoping to capture a market share of up to 50 per cent.

The CSeries will also represent a bold technology leap. The jets will be powered by new-generation geared turbofan engines from Pratt & Whitney of the US, one of the first uses of this new engine technology. Bombardier said the new engines would help cut fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by around 20 per cent, and cut cash operating costs by 15 per cent, compared with similar-sized existing aircraft.

Scott Carson, chief executive of Boeing's commercial aircraft division, said he was yet to be convinced of the technology, and in particular of its durability in service.

Mr Beaudoin believes Bombardier is ready for the challenge, however. The group has been restructured in recent years to concentrate on the main businesses of aircraft and train making, and he said its profitability was recovering strongly.

The group had more than $4bn of cash on the balance sheet (restricted and unrestricted) and the aerospace division was already reaching the target of an 8 per cent operating margin in the current financial year, 12 months ahead of schedule.

"We are profitable and with a good order backlog of more than $50bn. The revenues are looking good and profitability is increasing to a good level with potential to increase more. And we have the good cashflow to be able to plan big projects like the CSeries," he said.

Source: http://www.ft.com By Kevin Done, Aerospace Correspondent