Aircraft rental company Aviation Capital Group (ACG) has signed a memorandum of understanding for 20 A220 aircraft and a firm contract for 40 A320neo family aircraft, including five A321XLRs, Airbus said in a statement Thursday.
A Memorandum of Understanding is a preliminary contract to the firm purchase contract, explains Annabelle Duchesne, spokesperson for Airbus Canada, in an interview.
In the event of a favorable outcome, the 20 aircraft would likely be assembled in Mirabel, according to Mr.me Duchesne, as is generally the case with planes purchased by aircraft lessors.
This would be ACG’s first direct contract for A220 family aircraft.
At this point, it is not known whether the order is for the smaller A220-100 or the more popular A220-300. The price that will be paid by ACG has also not been disclosed.
“We are delighted to expand our portfolio with additional A220 and A320neo Family aircraft. These high performance aircraft will reinforce ACG’s strategic objective of providing its airline customers with the most modern and fuel efficient aircraft available, ”said Thomas Baker, CEO of ACG, in a released statement. by Airbus, Thursday December 30. ACG is 100% owned by Tokyo Century Corporation.
“This order is further recognition of the benefits of our single aisle products by one of the world’s leading aviation asset managers, ACG and the Tokyo Century Group. It also strongly confirms that the A220 is an aircraft more and more sought after in the landscape of commercial aviation, ”said in the same press release Christian Scherer, chief commercial director and boss of Airbus International.
The A220 is the only aircraft specially designed for the 100-150 seat market. Equipped with Pratt & Whitney’s PW1500G engines, it is quieter, more fuel efficient and produces fewer GHGs per seat than planes of previous generations.
Airbus employs 2,500 people at its Mirabel facilities. The manufacturer delivered 186 A220 devices as of November 30, the most recent figure available. Its historic order book stands at 650 aircraft, excluding the 20 aircraft ordered by ACG since they are not yet the subject of a firm contract. This new sale could therefore reduce the number of aircraft still to be built from 464 to 484.
“The A220s are doing very well despite the vagaries of the pandemic,” says Mme Duchesne. Our customers are thinking about the future. Airlines are betting on new planes that consume less fuel and have lower operating costs. ”
In response to the growing order book, the manufacturer is increasing its production capacity. “In January, we will open our pre-assembly line in Mirabel, used to prepare fuselage sections for our two factories in Mirabel and Mobile,” indicates Mr.me Duchesne. Currently, Airbus assembles 5 A220 aircraft per month. It will drop to 6 at the start of 2022. It aims to increase to a monthly rate of 14 planes by 2025.
Auspicious year
This new contract marks an auspicious end to the year for the European aircraft manufacturer, which in December alone secured a firm order for 100 A320neo family aircraft by the Air France-KLM group, with options for 60 additional aircraft. . This order is symbolic since the planes are intended for KLM, Transavia Holland and Transavia France, companies previously equipped with Boeing 737s.
Airbus has also snatched up another symbolic market from the Seattle giant, with Australian airline Qantas signing an agreement in principle to acquire up to 134 A320s and A220s to replace the Boeing 717s and 737s used on the island’s domestic routes. continent.
In November, the European aircraft manufacturer had already accumulated orders at the Dubai air show, the first to scale since the pandemic.
Airbus counted more than 6,250 single-aisle aircraft (A320 and A220 families) to be delivered at the end of November, while Boeing had just under 3,400 737-type aircraft in its order book.
Over the first eleven months of the year, the European aircraft manufacturer recorded 610 gross orders (368 net taking into account cancellations and modifications of orders).
with Agence France-Presse
1.8 billion US
This is the estimated value of an order for 20 A220 aircraft in its version with more than 120 seats. Buyers often benefit from generous discounts off the list price.