Podcast: Has The A220 Been A Winner For Airbus? And Should They Stretch It?

Ten years after the C Series entered service, editors are joined by Richard Aboulafia to assess the success of what is now the A220 and explain why a decision to stretch it or not is such a conundrum for Airbus. 

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AI-Generated Summary

The episode examines the Airbus A220 10 years after its entry into service and asks whether the program has become the success Airbus expected. The discussion places the aircraft’s origins at the center of the story, noting that the former Bombardier C Series changed the competitive balance in the narrowbody market and pushed Airbus and Boeing to respond with updated A320 and 737 families. I

The conversation describes how the A220 sells steadily but not explosively, with deliveries and orders affected by COVID, engine durability issues, supply chain complications, and the challenges of ramping production through legacy facilities. It also weighs the appeal and risks of a possible A220-500 stretch, especially the tension between expanding the program and protecting the A320neo family from cannibalization. The guests discuss how volume, cockpit commonality, range, and customer demand shape the case for a stretch, while also noting that Airbus seems divided internally on timing and scope. 

The episode then widens to Embraer and the possibility of a new aircraft in the market, with the panel considering industry growth, market positioning, risk, and the difficulty of finding the right industrial partner. Finally, the discussion turns to Airbus’s future narrowbody strategy and the expected clean-sheet successor to the A320 family, which appears to be drawing increasing attention inside the company.

Key Topics:

• The A220’s origins as the Bombardier C Series
• Airbus’ acquisition and strategic rationale
• Ten years of sales, deliveries and profitability challenges
• Supply chain issues and production ramp-up constraints
• Montreal and Mobile assembly operations
• The proposed A220-500 stretch
• Cannibalization risk versus product-line expansion
• Embraer’s options and Airbus’ next narrowbody program