A220 handover
Airbus has worked hard to make the A220 program a success. It built out the program considerably, and we think it’s clear now that Bombardier could not have achieved the same level of success.
The rocky start
The resources to get the program to where it is today would likely have bankrupted Bombardier. Indeed, the CSeries program is seen as the primary reason Bombardier left the commercial aviation segment. The concept was sound, but the execution exceeded the firm’s leadership capabilities. The fact that the aircraft performs as it does is testimony to excellent engineering.
Take a look at the chart below for program history. The columns are deliveries, and the curved line tracks the number of days between the first flight and delivery. That day metric should trend down over time as the program matures and industrialization settles into a rhythm.
Instead, we see the program has gone through several spikes.
- The early spike was Bombardier’s struggle. The CSeries program became the A220 on July 10, 2018. This rebranding occurred just 10 days after Airbus took control of the program under a partnership agreement.
- The second spike was the pandemic, which hit the commercial aviation industry in ways nobody could have predicted.
- The last spike was the end of last year. The most critical challenge was ongoing problems with the Pratt & Whitney GTF, which had a manufacturing defect involving contaminated powdered metal in key components, leading to premature wear and cracking. In mid-October, 79 of 367 A220 aircraft in service worldwide were grounded, representing approximately 22% of the fleet. Some engines were requiring attention after barely 1,000 cycles, when they would typically be expected to last thousands of cycles before major maintenance. The program also faced corrosion issues on some passenger seat fittings and wing components, including the wing-to-body fairing. However, these were described as less critical than the engine problems.
Fitting into Airbus
To provide a perspective on the industrialization challenges, the following chart compares the A220 with the A320 family program. The A220 had to meet metrics that Airbus had established for its A320 family, and it was way behind. We can see how Airbus struggled to tame the swings and spikes, which is difficult given that the A220 program is much smaller than the A320 program.
The only sympathetic spike in the covid era.
A220 progress and maturing
The point of this story is to focus on the A220 in 2025. The program started to settle, despite engine challenges. As the following chart clearly illustrates, engines were a problem for Airbus as a whole.
It seems that after the summer, both Pratt & Whitney and CFM began delivering engines at the expected rate, and Airbus began moving aircraft much faster. The first chart shows A220 deliveries rising into the end of the year and the delivery days declining. Airbus moved the engine pylon production from Wichita to its current pylon operation in France. Every one of these steps helps to create a more stable industrial base with better critical mass.
Outlook
The A220 program appears to be maturing at last. The only issue is the future of the -100, which seems to have run out of steam. Which could be timely as 2026 might be when we see the long-awaited -500 announced.
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