The Airbus A220 (initially known as the Bombardier CSeries), is one of my favorite commercial aircraft. The plane has a comfortable cabin with a 2-3 layout, and generally decent legroom. However, that could soon change for some airlines, thanks to an update that Airbus is working on.
Continue reading: Uh Oh: High Density 160-Seat Airbus A220-300 Variant In the Works
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
The type rating for the A220's is BD500. So, there's a -100 and -300. Both variants are quite "lively" as they are. Adding that much more weight could make it a dog (like the B737-900) without a major engine increase. So, could this be the -500 variant?
Oh, and the 149 vs 150 seats will not require the extra flight attendant. And...I meant to say "...could this be the precursor to the -500 variant"{
This seems like an ideal aircraft for Frontier - they have a bit of an issue finding routes that can handle 186 seats. A 160 seat aircraft would likely open up some thinner routes that can still be profitable.
How is the backlog shrinking, when they're adding both new customers and large orders, with no significant cancellations?
Ben, your banner ads and popups are killing me lately. I visit your site every day and it routinely crashes my browser!
2-3 should have died with the DC-9. And this piece of waste should have died when Boeing tried to kill it and tragically failed.
One would think the change in tooling to add the second over wing exit would be a precursor to the -500 stretch. I doubt the added weight of the additional exit + 10/11 more pax and associated seats and such would turn the -300 into a “dog” although airBaltic would probably be borderline MTOW on their Tenerife and Gran Canaria routes.
“Total net sales shrunk by 10 units since the beginning of last year. The aircraft also hasn’t picked up a single new order so far this year, instead suffering one cancellation. The backlog stood at just under 500 at the end of May.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-15/airbus-is-studying-simple-a220-stretch-to-revive-flagging-model
Of course I have a popup blocker. I'm not using Netscape 1.0. His ads crash my browser.
Oh no, only 500 on the order books? If that’s a failure, we’d better let Boeing know because their total 777X orders are around 500.
Yeah, it’s such an abject failure that they have a 500-long waiting list for delivery slots, and LOT has just ordered another 84 of them.
Old story,
https://leehamnews.com/2013/03/07/bombardier-confirms-160-seat-cseries
In 2013 the dimensions of the CS300 were changed. Length was increased from 38,0m to 38,7m to enable a 160 seat design. The 2013 LOPA shows a 28in pitch for all seat.
Don't sell an old cow as a new idea, Airbus.
“Airbus needs to rekindle demand for the aircraft given the A220 has a dwindling backlog and remains unprofitable.”
Not a single new order this year except those 80 planes LOT just ordered. LOL.
I don't see the A220 running out of orders anytime soon. But the real issue is indeed the profatibility and also that large parts of production are in the US.
Depends how much you're paying them. Airbaltic flight attendants are earning less than €20k a year, even with 50% on-costs you just need 50 additional passengers a month paying €50 per segment to break even.
TAAG also fly a couple of A220s. Even a couple of additional pax on a run to Sao Tome could cover the monthly costs for the extra FA on an Angolan salary.
How will adding extra seat "make it a dog"
It's the same with JAL electing to have 239 seats on their A350-1000 and BA having 331 seats.
The aircraft isn't being stretched, the MTOW probably won't be increased for this particular MOD.
He didn't say the aircraft is running out of order.
Sales have been slow over the past years compared to other narrowbody on offer
I grew up surrounded by dumb Polacks. I know one when I see one, and LOT's full of them.
Actually ORD, knocking LOT is not very sensible today …. LOT jumped a staggering 40 places in the World Rankings published today … do take a peek …. 🙂
https://www.worldairlineawards.com/worlds-top-100-airlines-2025/
Your comments already add little, this is blatantly racist. Why is this consistently ignored on OMAAT?
Have you ever considered giving yourself a lobotomy, ORD? An auger through the eye socket would improve your sh-t personality immensely wou worthless seppo maggot.
@Timtamtrak My comment calling someone boomer did not get published but such trash racist comments are being let through. Ben really needs to do more to moderate the comments or at the least hire a moderator. This is getting out of hand and this year has seen a large increase in racist insults being thrown in comments