French aircraft manufacturer, Airbus is considering manufacturing a larger version of the A220 as the aircraft gains popularity among operators in the aviation industry.
Airbus says it is considering manufacturing an Airbus A220-500 in the coming years.
According to simpleflying.com, Chief Executive Officer, Airbus, revealed that the A220 program is still gaining altitude, and the goal remains for the program to break even in the middle of the decade. While he acknowledged that the European manufacturer was still eyeing an A220-500 stretch, Guillaume Faury could not add any clarity on when Airbus may officially launch the aircraft.
The Airbus A220 is rapidly growing in popularity, with over 700 orders for the narrowbody jet now sitting on the manufacturer’s order books. Airlines and the manufacturer have expressed interest in an A220-500, and while it’s almost certainly coming at this point, when is anybody’s guess.
What’s the latest on the A220-500?
Last Summer, Airbus’ CCO Christian Scherer revealed that Airbus wouldn’t launch a stretched A220 until the existing variants reach their “cruising altitude”. When asked for clarity as to when this may be, Faury was unable to give specifics, telling Simple Flying,
“I like to hear questions on the stretch to the A220 because the -500 will be a very good version of the A220. We are not at the ‘cruising altitude’. We are gaining altitude. We have the target to be breakeven [on the A220 program] by the middle of the decade. Faury added, “We are in the phase of the program to continue to ramp up production and deliver performance with the existing -100 and -300… Any answer [on when to expect the A220-500] from my side would be premature.”
2025 is an A220 focus point
Right now, the middle of the decade is where Airbus’ main focal point when it comes to the Airbus A220 program. Faury was clear that this is when the planemaker expects the program to break even.
By 2025, Airbus hopes to be building 14 narrowbody jets each month. The planemaker expects that ten of these will be made at the A220’s home in Mirabel, Canada. The remaining four would be built at Airbus’ US plant in Mobile, Alabama.
An A320neo and 737 MAX competitor
The Airbus A220-500 would challenge the A320neo family. While airBaltic’s A220-300s currently seat 145 passengers, it has been suggested that the A220-500 could have an exit limit of 200 passengers. An aircraft’s exit limit is how many passengers it is certified to carry based on evacuation tests.
Carrying close to 200 passengers would mean that the -500 would take a similar number of passengers to the Boeing 737 MAX and the Airbus A320neo. According to data compiled by Air Insight, this would make the A220 a much more attractive aircraft for airlines than the A320neo.
Using fuel use per hour data from US airlines, Air Insight’s data shows that the A320neo consistently uses around 810 gallons per hour. This is far lower for both Airbus A220 models. In the US, the A220-100 has consistently used approximately 655 gallons of fuel per hour over the past three years, while the larger -300 has used around 670 gallons per hour over the past two years.
