Airbus ended Tuesday, in São Paulo, the demonstration tour of the A220 model in South America, a market where the new family of aircraft – formerly part of Bombardier’s CSeries program – has not yet won customers.
The European plane maker vows to deliver lower operating cost than large narrow-body jets and offer more seats and longer-range flights than regional jets. The plan is to grab a share of a market currently dominated by Embraer’s E-Jets, especially the E195-E2, and Boeing’s 737 Max 7.
Airbus stands as the global leader in the 100 to 150-seat segment, with a 56% share, followed by Boeing (22%) and Embraer (17%). In South America, however, the new model has yet to take off. “Last year was one of recovery. Brazilian airlines suffered a lot from the pandemic. But we already have two major operators here and expect to receive new orders later on,” said Guillaume Gressin, the company’s vice-president of international, strategy and commercial operations. Azul and Latam are major clients of the European company, with dozens of other Airbus models in operation.
Latin American airlines are taking longer than peers in other regions to recover financially from the crisis triggered by Covid-19, which helps to explain why the A220 has not yet received orders from the region, the executive said.
According to Airbus’s calculations, Latin America will need 2,460 more passenger and cargo aircraft over the next 20 years to meet the additional demand and to replace older and less efficient jets. The fleet in service in the region is expected to double in this period to 2,800 units.
Of the total number of new aircraft, 2,170 will be small, 190 medium, and 100 large, Airbus projected. The growth of the middle class and the need for jets for shorter routes will drive demand, Mr. Gressin said.
Designed to serve the 100 to 150-seat market, the A220 has already drawn more than 740 orders. Today, there are more than 200 jets flying on 600 routes, operated by over 25 clients, including Air France, Delta, JetBlue and Breeze Airways – a new airline owned by David Neeleman.
Antonio da Costa, Airbus’s vice-president of single-aisle marketing, sees room for the A220 in South America. “The A220 is complementary to Embraer’s jets. Air France, for example, operates the A220 and KLM operates the E2. This brings more flexibility to the operation,” he said.
With the A220, he added, it will be possible to cover more distant routes than those operated today by the E2, allowing the expansion of the network. Compared to the Boeing Max 7, the A220’s engines, aerodynamics and systems are more modern and include more advanced technologies, he said.
The A220-300 showed in Brazil today belongs to Swiss Airlines. Before landing in São Paulo, where it was presented to representatives of local airlines, it flew through Mexico, Panama, Chile and Argentina after leaving from Miami.
Source: Valor International