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AirAsia has provided a major boost for the Airbus A220 program with an order for 150 aircraft, and the carrier has also expressed strong interest in the proposed larger -500 version.
The deal follows a year of negotiations between AirAsia and Airbus. The competition for a smaller narrowbody was between Airbus and Embraer, said Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A and adviser to AirAsia.
The new order is for the A220-300 version. AirAsia is the first customer for a 160-seat configuration of the -300. An additional 10 seats have been made possible by an extra overwing exit on each side of the aircraft.
Fernandes said deliveries are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2028, or “if we’re lucky, late 2027.” The seats are the major remaining factor to be decided, he said.
The aircraft will be powered by Pratt & Whitney GTF engines. The carrier has previously selected CFM LEAP engines for its A320neo-family orders.
AirAsia already had orders for more than 350 A321neos before the latest deal was announced.
Fernandes said the A220s will be an important addition to its future fleet mix, as not all routes are suitable for its 244-seat A321neos. This applies to new routes and even to its busiest routes such as Kuala Lumpur-Singapore where some frequencies would ideally have fewer seats to improve margins.
In this way, the A220 will allow the airline to “build a deeper network,” Fernandes said. The aircraft’s range of up to seven hr. will also be useful, he said.
AirAsia discussed the aircraft when it was being developed by Bombardier as the C Series, but at the time said they needed it “a little longer,” Fernandes said. This has been done with the -300 version.
Fernandes said he hopes Airbus builds the even larger -500 version, as “that is the aircraft we really want.” AirAsia has committed to ordering another 150 A220s if the manufacturer does decide to build the -500.
He noted that a 185-seat A220-500 would be an ideal replacement for the carrier’s A320s as they approach retirement age.
The AirAsia deal boosts the A220 program past 1,000 orders and deliveries and represents “a major milestone” for the program, said Lars Wagner, CEO for commercial aircraft at Airbus.
Before the AirAsia commitment, Airbus had outstanding orders for 458 A220s, all but 33 of them for the larger A220-300. The backlog is lower than at the end of 2018 when Airbus had just acquired the C Series program from Bombardier.
At that time, Bombardier had reached a backlog of 480 aircraft. Since then, Airbus has delivered 434 aircraft and added orders for 412 units.
Airbus has also been working on a further stretch of the aircraft with the A220-500. But CEO Guillaume Faury said during the company’s recent first quarter earnings presentation that a decision on the launch of the -500 is not imminent.
The manufacturer delivered 75 aircraft in 2024 and 93 in 2025, and has delivered 19 A220s so far this year. Airbus aims to increase its monthly production rate to 13 by 2028, although this is lower and slower than initially projected.
Its biggest customers include airBaltic, Air Canada, Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines, Breeze, JetBlue and Lufthansa. In general, its customer base for this model is focused on North America and Europe.
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