Airbus has taken the time from their sudden A321XLR reveal to quietly announce that at this stage they won't be creating an A220-500 stretch.Whilst this news comes as a disappointment to many aviation enthusiasts, it is a logical choice as the further stretch aircraft would have cannibalized other Airbus sales.

What are the details?

Airbus and manufacturer Bombardier offer two variants of the A220:

  • A220-100 - 135 passengers to a range of 3,400 nmi (6,300 km)
  • A220-300 - 160 passengers to a range of 3,350 nmi (6,200 km)

However, there is room to actually stretch the A220 into a variant known as the A220-500.

“It’s very likely that… once the A220 has done the ramp up, is economically viable [and] then we can further invest, that this is going to happen, Once this success is on track, it would be time for looking at what we do for the product.” – Airbus president of commercial aircraft Guillaume Faury back in January 2019.

The A220-500 would fly a shorter range (unless Airbus can perform the same kind of magic they did for the A321XLR) and carry a max load of around 200 passengers.

A220 range
The A220s range from New York JFK. Image: GCMaps

Is it being built?

According to Airways Mag's twitter, Airbus has decided to defer the stretch design for now.

Airbus has a lot on their plate. Even though they have the capacity, due to the modular design of these aircraft (the A320 and A321 are built at the same factory on the same floor), with so many new aircraft on the table, it may be better for them to focus their attention on the main breadwinners.

Another big reason not to build it

As mentioned in the introduction, a bigger A220 would actually impact Airbus' sales of their A320 series (which is, in fact, the main breadwinner for the airline).

A318
Airbus A318 vs Airbus A220-100. Photo: Simple Flying

The Airbus A318 and A319neo are most at risk of competing with the A220-500 (you can see a full comparison of these aircraft here).

The A220/CS series was always designed for small regional airports and specific spoke to spoke routes (like the upcoming startup airline Moxy). It was never really meant to compete with Airbus' and Boeing's main offerings, the A319/A320 and 737 series respectively.

Although, many have pointed out that Airbus would very much welcome some sales for an A220-500 if they came from Boeing 737 MAX customers, who deferred their orders in wake of the problems with that aircraft.

A220
Current and future generation regional jets and small narrowbodies, based on CAPA and Bombardier. Graph: Wikimedia

By not focusing on the stretch at this stage, Airbus can guarantee the successful roll-out of A320neo aircraft, and the A319neo shrink which is hitting the marketing in a big way this year.

What do you think? Should Airbus develop a A220-500 variant? Let us know in the comments.Â