A220 – Page 7 – WELCOME TO WWW.PLANESINTHEAIR.COM

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Airbus SE scored a key victory on Tuesday, with U.S. airline JetBlue announcing it would buy 60 of its A220-300 narrowbody jets, the first major order for the planemaker’s newly rebranded programme as its battle with rival Boeing Co intensifies.

Earlier on Tuesday, Airbus unveiled the new A220 name for the 110-seat to 130-seat model jets, previously called the CSeries under Canadian firm Bombardier, at a ceremony at the planemaker’s Toulouse facilities in France.

Airbus has taken majority control of the loss-making Montreal-based aircraft programme, with Bombardier and Quebec as minority partners. The deal closed on July 1.

“We feel the 220 is the perfect fit for our network, strategy and customer experience, and most importantly, for our owners,” JetBlue Chief Financial Officer Steve Priest said in a phone interview. “It really is the ideal aircraft to carry the momentum of our structured cost programme well into the next decade.”

The A220 will replace JetBlue’s existing fleet of 60 Embraer E190 aircraft, with those jets retiring beginning in 2020.

The A220’s triumph over Brazil’s Embraer SA sets the stage for a fierce competition between Airbus and Chicago-based Boeing Co in the narrowbody market. Both major planemakers have recently taken stakes in smaller rivals’ jet programs.

Boeing last week announced a tentative deal for a controlling stake in the commercial aircraft arm of Embraer under a new $4.75 billion (£3.57 billion) joint venture.

“It’s a very smart decision on JetBlue’s part because the A220 is an extremely flexible airplane,” Atmosphere Research Group fleet analyst Henry Harteveldt said, adding that it was a “completely new airplane” with a fuel efficiency that would allow JetBlue to carry “20 to 30 more passengers for free.”

The jets will be powered by Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan (GTF) PW1500G engines. Pratt & Whitney is owned by Connecticut-based United Technologies Corp.

JetBlue declined to outline the financial details of the deal.

The carrier said the new aircraft will be assembled at Airbus’ Mobile, Alabama, facility.

(Reporting by Alana Wise in New York and Tim Hepher in Toulouse, France; Additional reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)

Photo from:

https://www.airbus.com/

* Sees demand for at least 3,000 of the planes over 20 years

* Says move will be positive for jobs in Quebec

* Broadens its battle with Boeing to small passenger jets (Adds potential order, background)

TOULOUSE, France, July 10 (Reuters) – Airbus gave its newly acquired Canadian CSeries jet a new name and looked close to winning an inaugural order on Tuesday as it prepares to broaden its battle with Boeing for jet sales.

The European firm said it was rebranding the plane as the A220, slotting it just under its longstanding A300 portfolio which stretches from the 124-seat A319 to the 544-seat A380.

Airbus expects to sell a “double-digit” number of the jets that have 110-130 seats this year and sees demand for at least 3,000 of them over 20 years, said CSeries sales chief David Dufrenois.

“I don’t think it will be very long before we see the first results on the market,” said Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Eric Schulz.

The CSeries has been locked in a fierce competition for a deal to supply jets to U.S. carrier JetBlue and is in poll position to win as Airbus also offers more attractive delivery positions on its larger planes, industry sources said.

Airbus and JetBlue declined comment.

The rebranding seals the takeover of one of Canada’s most visible industrial projects and ends Bombardier’s efforts to go it alone in the mainline jet market against larger rivals.

Airbus officials stressed it would be positive for jobs in Quebec where the lightweight jet is built.

The 110-seat and 130-seat models, previously known as CS100 and CS300, will be known as A220-100 and A220-300 respectively.

A deal for Airbus to take majority control of the loss-making Montreal-based aircraft programme with Bombardier and Quebec as minority partners closed on July 1.

The move also sets the stage for a broader confrontation with Boeing, which last week announced a tentative deal to take over the commercial unit of Bombardier’s competitor Embraer.

Until now the two plane giants have focused mainly on planes starting at 150 seats and largely ignored the niche below their single-aisle jets.

Adding the smaller models to their portfolios will broaden the revenue base of each company and prevent a key slice of Western know-how reaching potential competitor China, which had held talks to buy the CSeries, people involved in the deal said.

The change of identity came in a slick branding ceremony as the Canadian-developed passenger jet performed a flypast in searing heat over Airbus’s Toulouse facilities, with executives papering over past differences over prospects for the jet.

Airbus said it expected total demand for 7,000 planes in its category over 20 years, including its own A319.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Edmund Blair)

Tag: A220 (Page 7 of 7)

JetBlue Places Order For 60 Airbus A220’s

Airbus Renames CSeries Jet As A220

Archives