Airbus eyes to expand A220 jet capacity amid dwindling demand

(Bloomberg) -Airbus SE, A220-300 for a longer version of the customers’ appetite, airlines will give more seating capacity, but the appetite at the expense of range.

The Paris Air show starts on Monday and the aircraft called A220-500 focuses again. Airbus hopes to earn new agreements for the current A220, including Airasia for the current A220. The European plan -maker says it is a matter when the plane has been progressing with a larger version for years.

Such a derivative will create a more modern alternative to the smaller variants of the A320 family, and the US company will receive 737 Max of Boeing Co. without getting an obvious response.

Airbus needs to revive the demand for the plane because the A220 has a decreasing accumulated accumulation of business and remains unprofitable. Total net sales have fallen 10 units since the beginning of last year. The plane also has not received a single new order so far this year, instead of a cancellation. The accumulated work was slightly below 500 at the end of May.

According to people who are familiar with Poremaker’s conversations with customers, the company supports a simpler engineering approach that holds the same wing and engine to existing aircraft.

This option will require a less complex and expensive development process that can be completed and completed, including people who want not to discuss special negotiations, including flying from the shore to the shore in the USA.

People warned that a simple stretch version is one of the options that are taken into consideration and that a final decision is not made and that the timing is still in the flow.

An Airbus spokesman said the company will continue to invest in the A220 platform and the company will explore all options. Authorized, any decision on future variants “is not given until it is taken,” he said.

When Planemaker seized the Jetliner family from Bombardier Inc., who had a shortage of cash in 2018, he inherited engineering activities for a third A220 model.

A larger A220 variant will offer a new narrow body in a hungry market for new generation jets. Both Airbus and Boeing are sold for the next ten years for popular A320 and 737 aircraft, and no company is not close to a brand new model to replace the industry’s workforce.

The floating version to airline customers will extend the body of the A220-300. Another benefit of a simpler stretch is that such a version encounters less certificate obstacles with the regulators, considering the overlap between the aircraft currently in service.

The approach is popular among customers such as Air France-KLM, which does not require longer intercontinental demand for US airlines. However, some people may be an agreement for some A220 operators, especially for US carriers entering profitable intercontinental routes.

Nevertheless, he would save Airbus from searching for a new engine model from Pratt at a time when the supplier dealt with an expensive repair program for the GTF-model family. A larger turbine will require investments that can quickly enter billions of dollars for the Airbus and its suppliers, the re -design of the wing and the pilons on which it hangs.