ALC boss not sure launching the A220-500 is a smart thing to do

Air Lease Corporation (ALC) Chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy isn’t convinced that Airbus should launch a stretched version of the A220, the -500. He thinks the risk is too high that the A220-500 would erode the success of the A320neo and Airbus would not be better off, Udvar-Hazy said on September 7 during the Deutsche Bank Aircraft Finance & Leasing Conference. ALC boss not sure launching the A220-500 is a smart thing to do.

ALC has orders for 68 A220-300s. When asked if he has conversion rights for a yet-to-be-launched A220-500

, Udvar-Hazy replied: “If Airbus is to launch this aircraft, which is not imminent, I think they want us to be a customer of the A220-500. But there are two areas one has to think about on the -500. One: can the production system in Mirabel (Montreal) and Mobile handle a significant increase in production rates of the 220? Today the answer is no.”

“Secondly: there is a huge overlap if you do two circles on the A320neo and the A220-500. They almost cover the same territory. So would you want to destroy a really good program that’s a fundamental foundation to Airbus’s success, the A320neo, why would you want to cannibalize that with a 220-500, which could cost more to make today than to make an A320neo.”