On 10 July 2018, hours af ter the CSeries programme renamed A220 by the main stakeholder,

Airbus, JetBlue ordered 60 A220-300s (f ormer CS300) to replace its 60 Embraer 190s f rom 2020
with 40% lower f uel burn per seat, a blow to Embraer which was marketing the E195-E2 to the
carrier. [167] Priced at $5.4 billion bef ore customary discounts, they should be delivered f rom
Mobile, Alabama, some could be converted to the A220-100 (f ormer CS100) and 60 options are
pending f rom 2025.[168] JetBlue f ound the two models very close economically, as the A220-300
f uel seat cost is 40% lower than its current E190 and operating cost per seat excluding f uel are
22% lower. [169]
Since July 2018, Airbus has promoted the A220 to airlines in Southeast Asia in particular,
highlighting low operating costs f or regional jet operators and low seat -mile costs f or the low-cost
carriers that dominate this price-sensitive market. Airbus believes that the A220 has a role to play
in the rise of point-to-point traffic in the region, especially on new routes with thin initial
demand.[170]
In January 2019, conf irmation of sales to JetBlue and Moxy pushed the A220 order backlog to
more than double that of the slightly larger A319neo . [153] Delta Air Lines ordered 15 f urther A220s
f or a total of 90 until 2023, including a conversion of 50 to the larger 130-seat A220-300 f rom
2020.[171] Airbus acknowledged that competition between the A220-300 and the A319neo was
resulting in f ewer A319 orders, but conf irmed that the A319neo will not be discontinued. [89] In May
2019, a Delta Enhanced Equipment Trust Certif icate report indicated the A220-100 mean
appraised value was $34.1 million per aircraf t, but there was wide variation. [172]
At the Paris Air Show 2019, Air Lease Corporation signed a letter of intent f or 50 A220-300s,
thus becoming the f irst major leasing company to order the type.[173] In July 2019, Air France–
KLM announced a commitment f or 60 A220-300s, plus options f or a f urther 60 aircraf t, to be
delivered f rom September 2021 to replace Air France's A318 and A319 f leet .[174] Air France noted
its interest in converting some orders to a stretched variant of the A220 if developed.[175] The Air
France Memorandum of Understanding, once converted to a f irm order, will bring the backlog to
a total of 611 aircraf t. However, up to 110 of these are indef initely def erred "ghost" orders
recorded bef ore the Airbus partnership.[176]
In October 2020, Southwest Airlines, an all-Boeing carrier since establishment and the world's
largest operator of the 737 f amily, announced that it was considering the A220 to replace its 737-
700 f leet f rom 2025. As of October 2020, Southwest had 421 737-700s in service and another 72
in storage. The A220 will be competing with the yet-to-be-certif ied 737 MAX 7.[177]

Airbus partnership[edit]
Background[edit]
In October 2015, Airbus conf irmed that it had turned down Bombardier's offer to sell a majority
share of the CSeries to them. Bombardier said it would explore alternatives. Just days prior,
the Government of Quebec reiterated its willingness to provide Bombardier with f inancial aid, if it
were requested.[178][179][180] Bombardier stated its commitment to the CSeries and that it had the
f inancial resources to support it.[181] The CSeries competed with the smaller A320
variants. Airbus COO–Customers, John Leahy, opted to aggressively compete against the
CSeries rather than ignoring it, as Boeing had done with Airbus. Airbus dropped the A320's price
in head-to-head competition, successfully blocking Bombardier f rom several deals. The 2010
order f or 40 CS300s and 40 options from Republic Airways Holdings – then owner of exclusive
A319/320 operator Frontier Airlines – also pushed Airbus into the A320neo re-engine.[182]
By July 2016, Bombardier Aerospace set up the C Series Aircraf t Limited Partnership (CSALP)
with Investissement Québec.[183] On 16 October 2017, Airbus and Bombardier announced that
Airbus would acquire a 50.01% majority stake in this partnership, with Bombardier keeping 31%
and Investissement Québec 19%, to expand in an estimated market of more than 6,000 new
100- to 150-seat aircraf t over 20 years. Airbus's supply chain expertise should save production
costs but headquarters and assembly remain in Québec while U.S. customers would benef it from
a second assembly line in Mobile, Alabama. This transaction was subject to regulatory appro vals
then expected to be completed in 2018.[184] Airbus did not pay for its share in the program, nor did
it assume any debt.[185][186] Leahy considered that by "pressing the Trump Administration f or 300%
tarif f s, [Boeing] forced them into our hand s [...] an admission of a weak product line and a weak
commercial organization that they say we just can't af f ord that competition" . [182]

Concern[edit]
Airbus insisted that it had no plan to buy out Bombardier's stake in the program and that
Bombardier would remain a strategic partner af ter 2025, however clauses allowed it to buy out
Quebec's share in 2023 and Bombardier's 7 years af ter the deal closes, though production is
required to remain in Quebec until at least 2041.[187] While assembling the aircraf t in U.S. could
circumvent the 300% duties proposed in the CSeries dumping petition by Boeing , Airbus
CEO Tom Enders and Bombardier CEO Alain Bellemare assured that this f actor did not drive the
partnership, but negotiations began in August af ter the April 2017 f iling and the June decision to
proceed and, as a result, Boeing was suspicious .[186] AirInsight anticipated that the CSeries
market share of the 100- to 149-seat market over 20 years will increase f rom 40% of 5,636
aircraf t (2254 sales) to 55–60%, around 3,010 aircraf t, through Airbus' corporate
strength.[188] Boeing was concerned that it could not match f leet package deals enabled by the
partnership. [101] Leeham News stated that "the Airbus–Bombardier partnership [...] thrusts a big
stick up Boeing's tailpipe".[189]
At the Dubai Airshow in November 2017, Embraer assured it would monitor Airbus involvement
until antitrust immunity was granted, f or dumping pricing after, and that Brazil would
sue Canada f or its subsidies to Bombardier through the World Trade Organization. Embraer also
believed supply chain costs could not be reduced enough to make the CSeries prof itable,
viewing it as heavy, expensive and adapted to long, thin routes exceeding the range of E-jet E2,
a close rival f or market share. [190]
During competition investigation, the partners were to operate separately and clean teams with
privileged access to competitively sensitive data but separated f rom their management planned
the integration, evaluating synergies and preparing communications to regulators.[191] Antitrust
approval aimed at f inalisation by summer 2018 Farnborough Air Show to allow a marketing
push.[192] It was planned to rebrand the CSeries as an Airbus model, with A200 suggested as a
f amily name and A210/A230 f or the CS100 and CS300. [193]

Approval[edit]

The A220-300 with the Airbus livery after its July 2018 takeover

On 8 June 2018, af ter regulatory approval, Airbus and Bombardier announced that Airbus would
take a majority stake on 1 July 2018. The head of fice, leadership team and primary f inal
assembly line would stay in Mirabel, with its workf orce of 2,200. Bombardier would f und the cash
shortf alls if required, up to US$610 million f rom the second half of 2018 to 2021.[194] The FAL in
Mobile will start deliveries in 2020 with a monthly production rate of four, rising to six for a
capacity of eight while the main Mirabel FAL can go to ten.[195] Airbus will assist in marketing and
servicing.[196] Ten days af ter program control was transf erred to Airbus, the aircraf t was renamed
the A220-100/300.[197]
Bombardier CEO Alain Bellemare predicted that the partnership would signif icantly accelerate
sales. "It brings certainty to the f uture of the program so it increases the lev el of confidence that
the aircraf t is there to stay. Combining the CSeries with Airbus's global scale ... will take the
CSeries program to new heights".[198] At the 2008 launch of the program, Bombardier had
f orecast 315 annual deliveries f rom 2008 to 2027 f or 100- to 150-seat airliners, but in the f irst
10.5 years, the six models available (B737-700, A318/A319, CS100/CS300 and E195) averaged
f ewer than 80 per year. [199] Airbus is targeting over 100 orders in 2018 and 3,000 over 20 years,
half of the 100- to 150-seat market, and needs a supply chain cost reduction over 10% . [200] In July
2018, Airbus CFO Harald Wilhelm predicted a production potential of more than 100 aircraf t per
year.[201]

Exit of Bombardier[edit]
Airbus sought to reduce costs from all suppliers, including Bombardier, wing builder Short
Brothers and engine manuf acturer Pratt & Whitney. It has reportedly pushed its suppliers to
lower their prices by 20% f or more volume, or to switch them, towards 150 yearly
deliveries.[202] Supplier costs could be cut by 30–40% by Airbus's market power, as a 10%
procurement costs decrease would add six gross margin points to the program. [101]
It was intended that the CSeries team would be f ormed by leaders f rom both Bombardier and
Airbus and headed by Philippe Balducchi, then Head of Perf ormance Management at Airbus
Commercial Aircraf t.[203] On 1 June 2019, the CSeries Aircraf t Limited Partnership was renamed
to Airbus Canada Limited Partnership and adopted the Airbus logo as its sole visual identity.[204]
In February 2020, Bombardier exited the programme, selling its share to Airbus f or $591 million.
Airbus owns 75% of the programme; the remaining 25%, held by Investissement Québec, can be
redeemed by Airbus f rom 2026.[205]

Specifications[edit]
Airbus A220 specifications[23]

Variant A220-100 (BD-500-1A10)[206] A220-300 (BD-500-1A11)[206]

Cockpit crew 2 pilots

Passengers 100-120 (135 max)[207] 120-150 (160 max)[207]

Seat pitch 28–36 in (71–91 cm) in Y/J 28–38 in (71–97 cm) in Y/J

Seat width 18.5 to 20 in (47 to 51 cm)

Cargo volume 23.7 m³ / 839 cu.f t 31.6 m³ / 1,118 cu.f t

Length 35.00 m / 114' 9" 38.70 m / 127' 0"

Wing 35.10 m / 115' 1" span / 112.3 m2 (1,209 sq f t) area (10.97 AR)
 Height 11.50 m / 38' 8"

Fuselage diameter 3.7 m (12 f t 2 in)

Cabin 3.28 m / 10' 9" width / 2.11 m (6 f t 11 in) height

Cabin length 23.7 m (78 f t)[208] 27.5 m (90 f t)[209]