Bombardier's CSeries jet takes off on first flight (pictures)

Bombardier's new CSeries jet made its first flight on Monday, taking off from Montreal’s Mirabel Airport for a two-and-a-half-hour journey.

The jet is primed to take on a slew of regional aircraft, such as Mitsubishi’s Regional Jet; Irkut’s MC-21; and Embraer’s new E-jet E2 series, all of which are flying with Pratt & Whitney's new PurePower PW1000 engines. The plane can also compete with Airbus' A320 and Boeing's 737.

The very first Bombardier CSeries to take air was this CS100, which can seat between 108 and 125 passengers.

Bombardier's test pilots flew the CS100 low over the Mirabel Airport crowd gathered to see the first flight.

The total cost so far of the CSeries program is about $3.5 billion, according to Airchive. By the time of the first flight, airlines had ordered a combined total of 177 108- to 125-seat CS100s, and 130- to 160-seat CS300s.

The test pilots wave to the gathered crowd after the completion of the first flight.

Scale models of the CSeries planes showcase some of the airlines that will fly the new jets.

Like many of the plane's competitors, the CSeries will fly with Pratt & Whitney PW1000 engines, known as "PurePower." Specifically, the plane is using the PW1524G.

During ground tests, Pratt & Whitney put the PW1524G engine through its paces prior to being used to fly the Bombardier CSeries.