/ foundandexplained  

Airbus has a little bit of a problem. Emphasis on little. It now has two aircraft on its books that occupy the same size category, and a future indemand project that threatens to cannibalize the very cash cow A320 that put them on the map. What are the aircraft and what can be done about it? Let's explore the tricky Airbus small plane problem.

After Airbus launched the A300, they looked at developing a new smaller aircraft for travel within Europe and for airlines in North America called the Airbus A320. Some airlines requested a smaller plane with a greater range that they could use for hops between cities.

This new aircraft, codenamed the AE31X would fly 125 passengers in a 23 configuration to a range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 kilometers). Unfortunately, the deal fell through and Airbus decided to go it alone they shrunk the A320 airframe to fit the market demand without doing a cleansheet design.

The two models they created were the A318 and A319 and they would be able to fly 136 passengers to a bigger range of 3,100 nautical miles (5,740 km). Airbus would sell a few of these aircraft, notably to Air France who would fall in love with the Airbus A318 babybus.

However, flash forward to modern times to the arrival of Bombardier With gusto, this Canadian firm got to work building a new type of aircraft called the CS300.

Boeing didn't take this move well, despite not being in the market category since the early Boeing 737s, they still moved to block the sale of the new plane in the United States.

However, there was one way for Bombardier to get its CS300, and the CS100, in the United States if the aircraft was technically built there then it would be considered a domestic product and no longer trade embargoed.

If not Boeing, then the only other firm with sites to build planes would be Airbus with their Alabama finishing plant. This came at a huge cost, with Airbus acquiring the majority share of the CS program and naming rights calling the new plane the Airbus A220 series.

Specifically, the A220300 has a range of 3,400 nautical miles (6,297 km) and can carry up to 150 passengers in its most dense configuration, while the A318 and A319 can fly up 3,750 nmi (6,945 km). We should also mention that the a220 has a more comfortable interior with a larger space inside and a different 23 configuration, allowing couples some privacy in flight. The plane also has a multitude of other improvements from LED lighting, a quieter cabin, and better pressurization that make it the next generation aircraft compared to the older A320 platform.

While in earlier times that lower A220 passenger load factor might have been a dealbreaker for some airlines, in the age of 2020 and the aviation crisis, airlines have more than ever asked for efficiency over passengers. A smaller plane that can go further is easier to fill up and make profitable than a lumbering aircraft essentially the very same reason by aircraft like the Boeing 787 and A350 are favored over the A380 and Boeing 747.

But this is where the problem gets more interesting. These two aircraft cater to the same range and passenger market and its left Airbus in a situation where the promotion of either will cannibalize the sales of another.

And clearly looking at the sale numbers, airlines prefer the newer A220 with all the advantages of newer engines, modern cabin designs, and a better fuel economy. So much so that some airlines have asked for a stretch of the original A220300 design. A major buyer of the small A318 baby bus, Air France, even mentioned the A220500 stretch in a recent investor meeting as part of its fleet modernization strategy.

This A220500 stretch would cover the inherent flaw of fewer seats on the A220 model and push the seats up to a maximum of 170 in a dense configuration with an increase to the range to boot. But it would mean that the A220 series would now not only bite into the A318 and A319 but the A320 series as well.

Airbus has already committed to a new engine option of both the A319, A320, and A321, an investment it doesn't want to see go to waste with a new A220.

After all, the A320 order backlog is so huge that many airlines that have ordered the A320neo still have many years to wait before they see their aircraft in the sky. The a220 series avoids that problem by being of a different production line with its own supply chain

And according to very recent news, Air France plans to make a move to buy the A220500 stretch as soon as it can.... or it will swing right over and buy the Boeing 737 MAX instead.

Lastly, there is the matter of the third and very unknown Airbus NSR, new shortrange project. This aircraft is supposed to be in development to replace the A320 family and usher in a new era of aircraft by 2030 but with the a220 nipping at the heels of the small plane market, it is unlikely airbus is keen open a third product line.