EXCLUSIVE-Airbus to start larger A220 jet sales drive, sources say

Airbus is poised to start offering airlines and leasing firms a larger version ⁠of its A220 regional jet with a view to launching development later this year, industry sources said.

Airbus is poised to start offering airlines and leasing firms a larger version ⁠of its A220 regional jet with a view to launching development later this year, industry sources said. The campaign aims to pencil in enough orders to justify going ahead with the roughly 180-seat A220-500 version and marks the start of proper ​negotiations before a potential launch announcement as early as the Farnborough Airshow in July. Airbus officials told financiers on ‍the sidelines of the Airlines Economics conference in Dublin that 2026 would be a "big year" for the A220 and more details would be given soon, the sources told Reuters.

Any decision to go ahead and develop the so-called "simple stretch" design would be subject to Airbus board ⁠approval. An ‌Airbus spokesperson said it is ⁠exploring all options for the A220 and continues to focus on ramping up production and supporting customers. The larger version of the 110-160 seat ‍passenger plane has been on the horizon for some time. But Airbus has been wrestling with slow production, high manufacturing costs, questions ​over the durability of engines and pressure from leasing firms.

In a surprise appearance at the Airline Economics ⁠conference this week in Dublin, new Airbus commercial CEO Lars Wagner backed the A220-500, but reassured financiers he was focused on easing the industrial pressures ⁠across the portfolio. Two of the sources said Airbus had privately told financiers that sales discussions would open in a matter of weeks and the plane could be launched by the end of the year. The sources ⁠said a final decision would depend on locking in two or three marquee customers and approval from the Airbus ⁠board.

A larger version of ‌the loss-making A220 program, acquired from Canada's Bombardier in 2018, would allow Airbus to renegotiate supplier contracts and lower production costs per aircraft, which have kept the venture in the ⁠red.

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