Delta’s latest A220 delivery and program progress

The most recent A220 delivery to Delta Air Lines caught our eye. The typical period between first flight and delivery runs close to a month, on average. But N333DU was special. It took eight days from first flight to delivery, which is as far as we can tell, the best the A220 program has seen. Because of this data point, we have an interesting item upon which to base a program review. Airbus wants to get to rate 14, but its a long way off from that. The present rate is closer to six. One obvious way to increase rate is to deliver faster. The following chart shows the A220 program cumulative production and deliveries, through yesterday. The lower chart lists deliveries and average delivery days. [caption id="attachment_91051" align="aligncenter" width="580"] AirInsight[/caption] Upon reaching rate 16 per month, Airbus should be producing 192 aircraft per year. The charts show steady progress in both production and deliveries. The lower chart does show progress in delivery days in 2025. Since we are well into 2Q25, this improvement is likely significant and a distinctly better performance than previous years. It should, therefore, be a sign of progress. Bear in mind the program has two FALs, one in Alabama and another in Mirabel. The A220 has two big US customers in Delta and JetBlue, plus the smaller Breeze. Air Canada is another big customer. Outside North America, airBaltic is the key customer. Across the globe, Qantas and Swiss are among other big customers. The A220 faces competition from Embraer's E2 program. Embraer is taking the fight to the a220 wherever it can. Last year and 2025 have been good for Embraer, but in the A220 vs E2 battle, each campaign remains hard fought. Embraer's recent successes in military sales and business jets enable it to build up the resources to fund its commercial programs. The commercial programs have long been carried by the E175. But regional airlines in the US are not growing and consolidation is the future. On the other hand, the A220 program backlog is not great at about two years production. The E2 backlog is also softer than Embraer wants. Both programs trade in the "crossover jet" segment which has been a tough place to find success. Initially both OEMs saw good market response. Has that market now been largely met? How much more market is there? Looking across the industry, the big sales are for the A321 and MAX 10. Upsizing is back. The A220 has growth potential that has ben discussed since the C Series days. The E2 does not have any growth beyond the E195-E2. Airbus has an option, whereas Embraer must go with a clean sheet design. If the recent Delta delivery is not a one-off event, Airbus may soon be in a position where it must become even more aggressive. It needs to build the A220 backlog. With the annual air show a month away, the inevitable chatter about an A220 growth model announcement is discussed among the chatterati. One of these years, they'll be right. As always, this industry offers endless material to stay fascinating.

US Flight Planner - US DoT On-Time Data	Airbus vs Boeing - Official OEM Data
US Airline Schedule Performance - US DoT Data	Daily OEM Production & Deliveries -

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