Airbus A220

The Airbus A220 is a family of five-abreast narrow-body airliners by Airbus Canada Limited Partnership (ACLP). It was originally developed by Bombardier Aviation and had two years in service as the Bombardier CSeries. The program was launched on 13 July 2008. The smaller A220-100 (formerly CS100) first flew on 16 September 2013, received an initial type certificate from Transport Canada on 18 December 2015, and entered service on 15 July 2016 with launch operator Swiss Global Air Lines. The longer A220-300 (formerly CS300) first flew on 27 February 2015, received an initial type certificate on 11 July 2016, and entered service with airBaltic on 14 December 2016. Both launch operators recorded better-than-expected fuel burn and dispatch reliability, as well as positive feedback from passengers and crew.

In July 2018, the aircraft was rebranded as the A220 after Airbus acquired a majority stake in the programme through a joint venture that became ACLP in June 2019. The A220 thus became the only Airbus commercial aircraft programme managed outside of Europe. In August, a second A220 final assembly line opened at the Airbus Mobile facility in Alabama, supplementing the main facility in Mirabel, Quebec. In February 2020, Airbus increased its stake in ACLP to 75% through Bombardier's exit, while Investissement Québec held the remaining stake.

Powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1500G geared turbofan engines under its wings, the twinjet features fly-by-wire flight controls, a carbon composite wing, an aluminium-lithium fuselage, and optimised aerodynamics for better fuel efficiency. The aircraft family offers maximum take-off weights from 63.1 to 70.9 t (139,000 to 156,000 lb), and cover a 3,450–3,600 nmi (6,390–6,670 km; 3,970–4,140 mi) range. The 35 m (115 ft) long A220-100 seats 108 to 133, while the 38.7 m (127 ft) long A220-300 seats 130 to 160. The ACJ TwoTwenty is the business jet version of the A220-100, launched in late 2020.

Delta Air Lines is the largest A220 customer and operator with 80 aircraft in its fleet as of September 2025^[update]. A total of 941 A220s have been ordered of which 451 have been delivered and are all in commercial service with 24 operators. The global A220 fleet has completed more than 1.54 million flights over 2.69 million block hours, transporting more than 100 million passengers, with one smoke-related accident. The A220 family complements the A319neo in the Airbus range and competes with Boeing 737 MAX 7, as well as the smaller four-abreast Embraer E195-E2 and E190-E2, with the A220 holding over 55% market share in this small airliner category.

Bombardier began discussions with Fokker on 5 February 1996 about acquiring that company's assets, including the 100-seat Fokker 100 short-haul aircraft. However, after evaluating the potential purchase, Bombardier announced an end to the talks on 27 February, and two weeks later, on 15 March, Fokker was declared bankrupt. Bombardier then launched the BRJ-X, or "Bombardier Regional Jet eXpansion" on 8 September, a larger regional jet than the CRJ Series or "Canadair Regional Jet" due to enter service in 2003. Instead of 2–2 seating, the BRJ-X was to have a wider fuselage with 2–3 seating for 85 to 110 passengers, and underwing engine pods. It was comparable to the smallest narrow-body jetliners, like the 2–3 DC-9/MD-80/Boeing 717 or the 3–3 Airbus A318 and Boeing 737-500/737-600. At the end of 2000, the project was shelved by Bombardier in favour of stretching the CRJ700 into the CRJ900.

Meanwhile, Embraer launched its four-abreast E-Jet family for 70 to 122 passengers in June 1999, which entered service in 2004. Airbus launched its 107–117 passengers A318 on 21 April 1999, which entered service in July 2003, as Boeing had the 737-600 first delivered in September 1998.

Bombardier appointed Gary Scott on 8 March 2004 to evaluate the creation of a New Commercial Aircraft Program. A feasibility study for a five-seat abreast CSeries was then launched at the biennial Farnborough Airshow in July to investigate development of an aircraft to replace rival manufacturers' aging models: DC-9/MD-80, Fokker 100, Boeing 737 Classic and BAe-146 with 20% lower operating costs, and 15% lower operating costs than then-in-production models: Embraer E-Jet, Boeing 717, etc. The smaller variant (C110) should carry 110 to 115 passengers and the larger (C130) between 130 and 135 passengers over 3,200 nautical miles. The C110 was planned to weigh 60,420 kg (133,200 lb) at MTOW and have a length of 35.0 m (114.7 ft), while the C130 should be 38.2 m (125.3 ft) long and have a 66,000 kg (146,000 lb) MTOW. The aircraft would have 3-by-2 standard seating and 4-abreast business class, 2.1 m (7 ft) stand-up headroom, fly-by-wire and side stick controls. 20 percent of the airframe weight would be in composite materials for the centre and rear fuselages, tail cone, empennage and wings. The first flight was planned for 2008 and entry into service for 2010.

Bombardier's Board of Directors authorized marketing the CSeries on 15 March 2005, seeking firm commitments prior to program launch. In May, the CSeries development was evaluated at US$2.1 billion, shared with suppliers and partner governments for one-third each. The Government of Canada would invest US$262.5 million, the Government of Quebec US$87.5 million and the Government of the United Kingdom US$340 million (£180 million), repayable on a royalty basis per aircraft. The UK contribution is part of an investment partnership for the location of the development of the composite wings and other parts at the Belfast plant, where Bombardier bought Short Brothers in 1989.