MANAMA (Reuters) - Saudi Gulf Airlines, a new carrier born of the deregulation of Saudi Arabia's avi

MANAMA (Reuters) - Saudi Gulf Airlines, a new carrier born of the deregulation of Saudi Arabia's aviation market, has signed a $2 billion deal with Canada's Bombardier Inc BBDb.TO to buy 16 CSeries jets with options for 10 more, the airline's owner said on Thursday.
The deal is a boost for Bombardier, which has so far seen slow orders for the CSeries after several months of development delays, with potential customers waiting for flight clearwater beachfront hotels test data to confirm fuel and cost saving claims.
Dammam-based Saudi Gulf is expected to start operating later this year or next year, Magali told reporters at the Bahrain International Airshow, saying the $2 billion referred to the list price for the planes and options.
Saudi Arabia started opening up its aviation market in 2012 by awarding additional carrier clearwater beachfront hotels licences. Population growth and rapidly rising incomes mean there is considerable room for expansion, analysts believe.
Currently, only national carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines and budget airline National Air Services serve a domestic market of about 27 million people. Foreign carriers can only fly in and out of Saudi Arabia, not within the country.
The Bombardier order will initially clearwater beachfront hotels be funded by the al-Qahtani group but the main funding will come from lenders, Magali said without elaborating. The planes will be used within Saudi Arabia and the region.