New Airbus A220 Variant Coming

Airbus is progressing with the development of its A220 program through a new higher-capacity version.

The certification process is expected to commence this year and is for the 160-seat version of the A220.

Since taking over the program, Airbus has sought to continue developing it, recognising that it has a significant advantage over competitor planemakers, particularly driven by the absence of a rival from Boeing.

The largest variant of the regional jet is the -300 model, which can seat a maximum of 149 passengers, a figure that varies depending on how an airline chooses to configure the plane.

However, with this new endeavour and certification work expected to commence, Airbus would look to add 11 more passengers to the maximum of this, but modifications would be required.

The modifications stem from the requirement for an additional overwing exit and ensure the plane remains safe to operate in the event of an emergency. The jet must be compliant.

While adding capacity to the series is now a reality, other adjustments are expected as part of Airbus’ ongoing development of this program.

Interest In A New A220

During a briefing in Toulouse, as reported by Flightglobal, the chief engineer of the A220 stated that a strong demand has existed for a higher-capacity model within the A220 family.

There has been a long documented interest in the development of a high-capacity version from airlines such as airBaltic, to name one of the many that have expressed interest.

The Latvian carrier stated that it would not hesitate to switch to a proposed higher-capacity A220 model if it were to be launched.

Dubbed the A220-500, in 2023, Bloomberg reported, citing sources and analysts at the Bank of America, that the 2023 Paris Airshow may be the launch point for this high-capacity model.

Airbus firmly then downplayed this, confirming that the rumours were untrue. However, this didn’t stop the overall discussion about a new high-capacity model.

During this period, the planemaker didn’t rule out the possibility of launching a new model at some point, but firmly believed at the time there were greater focuses than the launch of new endeavours.

At this point, Airbus is still encountering supply chain challenges, but would likely feel internally that it’s better positioned to move ahead with new endeavours, such as this higher-capacity model of the series.