Airbus Says Airlines Want New A220

Airlines keep telling Airbus they want a stretched version of the A220-500, but the trigger has yet to be pulled, even with one of the early champions stepping back from the idea.

In an interview with Aviation Week, CEO Guillaume Faury reiterated that the A220-500 is a model that is simply a when, rather than an if, and internally there’s no stress that it won’t launch, but it must be done right.

Airlines Still Eye The A220-500

Faury told Aviation Week that the planemaker is still seeing strong interest from multiple customers in a larger A220 variant, with many expressing interest in purchasing the plane.

The positive mindset comes in direct response to comments from AerCap boss Aengus Kelly and even Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith, who hinted that the jet could arrive too late. However, Faury interpreted this differently from most.

He said this was more or less a statement that it has to come as soon as possible, not that the market for a stretched A220 no longer exists, since airlines have looked elsewhere for their high-capacity solutions.

Multiple businesses have repeatedly flagged the A220-500 as a solution to their capacity needs and an evolution of their narrowbody flying. Air Canada, Air Baltic, and AirAsia have all also been champions of the jet, none more so than the latter.

AirAsia’s landmark and historic deal for 150 A220s also included options for the larger A220-500, should Airbus proceed with it. The business is closely watching the jet as it seeks more capacity on an efficient platform to serve secondary markets.

With Airbus requiring anchor airlines, there are many publicly present, no doubt supported by those unwilling to comment and thus in talks privately. With the possible 180-seat model in the Simple Stretch not having been a new concept, many have also changed their tune.

A220-500 Sees Customers Walk Away?

One of the A220-500’s strongest backers throughout the reported period of interest in the model has been U.S.-based Breeze Airways. This is an A220 operator that is also keen to expand its fleet to 400 and keep its fleet mix simple.

With that simplistic view in mind, the long-lying customer for the A220-500 has recently cooled the idea of the jet. Stating that it doesn’t see an immediate need for the -500 and thus effectively rejecting interest in the trypoe despite a commitment to continuing to take on the smaller A220-300.

The carrier’s founder, David Neeleman, had pushed hard for the program’s evolution via a stretch. The belief was that the stretch would evolve the network, enabling thinner leisure and mid-sized business routes without introducing a new fleet type that would complicate operations, training, and costs.

Now, however, in the years since interest first emerged, the operation is believed to be adequately served by the -300, and while subject to change, the hot interest it once had no longer seems present.

Lessors are also divided, with AerCap stating it doesn’t see a market for the A220-500, arguing that many airlines have already pivoted to the A320neo and 737 MAX and would not add a third widebody type because the fleet complexity and costs would outweigh the benefits of a new subfleet.

Airbus doesn’t share that view; the planemaker knows a launch will come and has many interested parties. But a launch won’t be today; it has to be when the time is right. That decision relies on the program’s break-even point, higher production rates, and a window in which a sensible launch can take place.

In the past, the timing of the -500 has been linked to the economics of the family, with breakeven, or at least being very close, where it’s within view and inevitably will be reached in the term. With two young platforms in the A220 and the A350, Faury said he knows the market wants more and that they agree timing is key; airlines are still interested.