Airbus’s A220 program is getting a $1.2 billion boost in investment to help it ramp up production to 14 planes a month by 2026 as demand grows for the plane, originally developed in Quebec by Bombardier.
Airbus partnered with the Government of Quebec to take over the program and market the plane as part of Airbus’s line-up, and the two partners are sharing the new investment, with $300 million coming from Quebec funds. The deal also extends the partnership for another five years, to 2035.
The A220 main production is at Bombardier’s former plant in Mirabel, Quebec, and is the only Airbus product with its primary operations in North America. The planes are also assembled at an Airbus plant in South Carolina.
So far, 340 A220s are in service, with 900 more on order; it has a 55% share of its size category. Since the Airbus deal, employment at Mirabel has increased by 75%, with 3,500 workers employed on the plane in Quebec.
