Europe-based global aerospace group Airbus has announced that, from the second half of next year, it would be offering airlines increased-range versions of its A220 small (100 seats to 150 seats) single-aisle airliners family. The A220 family is composed of two models, the A220-100 and the A220-300, and was originally developed by Canadian aerospace company Bombardier as the CSeries.

(Development of the aircraft nearly bankrupted Bombardier and it sold 50.1% of the CSeries programme to Airbus, the deal being closed in July 2018. Bombardier retained a 34% share, with Investissement Québec – the Quebec provincial investment agency – holding some 16%.)

A220 programme engineers have been able to take advantage of structural and systems margins in the design, as well as the current fuel volume capacity. As a result, they have been able to increase the type’s maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) by nearly 2.3 t (by 2 268 kg, to be precise). This increases the A220-100’s MTOW from its current 60.8 t to 63.1 t, and the MTOW of the A220-300 from today’s 67.6 t to 69.9 t.

In turn, this increases the range of the two models by some 450 nautical miles (nm). The extended range version of the A220-100 will have a range of 3 400 nm, while the extended range A220-300’s will be 3 350 nm. This will allow these aircraft to service new routes, such as between Europe and the Middle East or between South-East Asia and Australia.

“In true Airbus tradition, we improve our products constantly,” affirmed Airbus chief commercial officer Christian Scherer. “This new MTOW will allow operators to reach markets which today cannot be served by other small single-aisle aircraft types.

“Since its entry into service close to three years ago, the A220 aircraft has already proven that it is meeting or beating its initial performance targets, bringing more flexibility and revenue potential to customers,” highlighted A220 engineering and customer support head Rob Dewar. “Today, Airbus is reinforcing its confidence |in the A220 platform and further enhancing its capabilities to meet upcoming market requirements.”

The manufacturer described the A220 as being “purpose built for efficiency”, using advanced materials and leading-edge aerodynamics. The aircraft is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW1500G geared turbofans, which burn at least 20% less fuel per seat, compared with previous-generation airliners. Currently, the A220’s order book stands at more than 530 aircraft.

Coincidently, an A220-100 was the 12 000th aircraft delivered to a customer by Airbus. Assembled at Mirabel, in Quebec, Canada, it was handed over to major US operator Delta Air Lines on May 20. It was also the 12th A220 for Delta, which is the type’s biggest customer, with 90 on firm order. First A220 The airline took delivery of its first A220 in October 2018 and started commercial operations with the type in February. Airbus is currently constructing a second A220 final assembly plant in Mobile, Alabama, where it already has a final assembly line for its A320 family of single-aisle airliners. The new A220 plant is scheduled to start deliveries in 2020.

The first aircraft delivered by Airbus was an A300B2 twin-engined wide-body airliner, handed over to Air France in 1974. In 2010, or 36 years later, the airframer delivered its 6 000th aircraft. It has taken Airbus just nine years to double that figure to 12 000. Of this total, 25% went to leasing companies, 27% to Asia-Pacific operators, 22% to European airlines, 13% to North American airlines, 5% to Latin American operators, another 5% to Middle Eastern airlines, and 2% to African operators. In terms of types, 74% have been single-aisle airliners (the A320 and A220 families), with the remaining 26% being wide-bodies, divided into A300/A310, 7%; A330, 12%; A340, 3%; A350, 2%; and A380, 2%.