Overview
- AirAsia and Airbus unveiled the firm 150-jet A220-300 order at a Wednesday ceremony in Mirabel, valuing it at about $19 billion at list prices and pushing total A220 firm orders past 1,000.
- AirAsia will debut a new 160-seat A220-300 layout that adds an extra overwing exit on each side, giving the low-cost carrier more seats per flight without moving up to a larger airframe.
- Every aircraft in the deal will be assembled at Airbus’s Mirabel, Quebec plant, which Canadian officials said supports thousands of local jobs on a Canadian-designed program.
- Deliveries are slated to begin in 2028, a timeline that reflects supply bottlenecks and Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engine constraints that have slowed Airbus’s A220 production ramp.
- CEO Tony Fernandes said he would buy 150 more if Airbus launches a larger A220-500, a conditional pledge that increases pressure on Airbus as AirAsia plans to use the A220 to open thinner ASEAN and Central Asia routes and free up larger jets for longer missions.