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The Airbus A220 family of aircraft was initially designed by Bombardier Aerospace as Bombardier
CSeries.
The two variants were labelled the CS100 and CS300.
This CSeries program was formally launched at the Farnborough Air Show in July 2008.
As you may already know, this program eventually made its way into the hands of Airbus.
In today’s video, let’s look at how all of this happened.
The smaller of the two jets (the CS100) performed its maiden flight on September 16", 2013,
and entered commercial service on July 15th, 2016, with launch operator SWISS.
The extended version, the CS300, first flew on February 27th, 2015, and entered commercial
service with airBaltic on December 14th, 2016.
In April 2016, Bombardier Aerospace received a firm order of 75 CSeries aircraft from one
of the three major carriers in the United States, Delta Air Lines.
The order included 75 of the CS100s plus 50 future options.
The entire program would be thrown into turmoil when, a year later, in April 2017, Boeing
filed a petition against Bombardier for selling the CSeries aircraft at approximately $24
million each - much below their production cost of $33 million.
As part of the petition, Boeing showed that the order posed a significant threat to the
US industry.
As a result, the US Department of Commerce (DoC) imposed subsidies of 220% plus a preliminary
80% anti-dumping duty.
In December 2017, this same governing body announced a total duty of 292%.
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The Canadian government filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against
the US in January 2018.
In February of 2018, the US International Trade Commission (USITC) overturned the imposed
duties, as it had determined that the US industry was not threatened by Delta Air Lines order
to Bombardier.
Meanwhile, the slow business, tough competitors, and the actions sparked by Boeing forced Bombardier
to enter into a partnership with Airbus in October 2017.
Airbus acquired a controlling share (50.01%) in the joint venture with Bombardier.
Within days of the control transfer to Airbus, the Bombardier CSeries was rebranded as the
Airbus A220 family.
The company producing the A220 was later named Airbus Canada Limited Partnership and adopted
the Airbus logo as its sole visual identity.
In February 2020, Bombardier exited the program, leaving Airbus with the lion’s share (75%)
and the Quebec government’s remaining 25% share.
Transitioning to being an Airbus product - one major priority for the European planemaker
was - and continues to be lowering the cost of production while ramping-up outpuet.
Bombardier's massive cost to produce the CSenes aircraft was no secret for the manufacturing
industry.
Boeing recognized the same thing during their dumping petition in 2017.
As noted before, the estimated cost of production of an A220-100 aircraft (with Bombardier's
existing process) was approximately $33 million.
The cost included the general, administrative, and overhead costs applicable to the aircraft.
Airbus also identified that the production cost of only the aircraft (parts, processes,
and labor) was over $24 million.
Hoping to address this, a new program team was formed with leaders from Bombardier and
Airbus to standardize processes for efficiently transitioning the aircraft.
During the initial years of acquiring most of the program, Airbus aimed to minimize production
costs before marketing the aircraft under its name.
Airbus used its strong supply chain network to cut material and process costs in the first
phase.
At the same time, Airbus' experienced workforce enabled the company to optimize the existing
process in the Mirabel, Quebec facility.
Moreover, production resources were shared with a second final assembly line (F.A.L.)
in Mobile, Alabama, to cater to the North American market.
The location of this facility within US borders was aimed to help Airbus avoid import tariffs
that would have come from planes built outside of the United States.
Like the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, the Airbus Canada A220 is no different
regarding production delays.
Airbus was already facing some delays with their "neo" family when taking control of
the A220.
In the initial years of the partnership with Bombardier, several Airbus A220s were built
and unfinished at the Mirabel Airport facility in Quebec.
There were missing cockpit installations on several aircraft due to missing supplier parts.
The new F.A.L.
at Mobile further added to the delays as it was still in the learning stages for the new
program.
There were substantial quality control issues related to processes and products at the Mobile
facility.
However, Airbus poured a lot of money and resources into resolving the problems and
bringing the facility up to speed.
The first A220 in Mobile was assembled on a line shared with the A320/A321neo line.
Airbus delivered its first US-assembled A220-300 to Delta in October 2020.
It was important for Airbus to reach profitability in the A220 program.
The CSeries production rate with Bombardier was just over one aircraft per month.
With the two final assembly lines going, Airbus initially increased the production rate to
three aircraft per month.
Airbus determined that the production rate must be boosted to 14 aircraft per month between
Mirabel and Mobile plants if it is to reach net profitability.
Speaking to CTV News, the President and CEO of Airbus Canada, Benoît Schultz, commented,
"We have a plan that works to make 14 planes per month: ten in Mirabel, [and] four in Mobile
in Alabama in the middle of the decade, even after the adjustments to production to mitigate
the difficulties of the supply chain that we have done recently."
The production rate is necessary to reduce materials, supplies, and overhead costs.
It is noteworthy that a typical narrowbody aircraft program aims to break even at approximately
400 sales.
While the number of sales to break even for the A220 program is still being determined,
it was more than twice the number when Bombardier owned the program.
This was calculated based on the $52 billion in cost overruns that Bombardier had incurred
on the CSeries program.
In 2022, Airbus averaged nearly 4 and a half A220 aircraft deliveries per month.
The manufacturer aims to reach the targeted production rate of 14 deliveries per month
by 2025.
What are your thoughts on this aircraft program transitioning from being known as the Bombardier
CSeries to the Airbus A220 family?
Let us know in the comments section.