Qantas, the largest airline in Australia, has opted for Airbus planes to renew its fleet, which will materialize with an order of at least 60 aircraft, including 20 A220s.
The manufacturer has thus capped its great rival Boeing, which also coveted the contract. Since this is a carrier established outside the United States, the A220-300s should in principle be assembled at Airbus Canada in Mirabel, in the Laurentians.
Qantas also intends to purchase 40 A321XLRs. The contract is expected to be finalized at the end of fiscal year 2022, the company said. The order size could reach 134 aircraft since the company also has purchase options.
“The agreement with Airbus offers the advantage of offering flexibility, which means that we can continue to choose all the A320neo and A220 families according to our needs in the years to come,” said the head of Qantas management Alan Joyce.
The Airbus planes will replace the Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 717 which will be withdrawn from the Australian carrier’s fleet.
After the initial shock caused by the pandemic, the A220 has filled its order book in recent months. The aircraft secured a firm order for 10 A220-300s from the Nigerian company Ibom Air.
Air Lease Corporation also signed a letter of intent to add 25 more aircraft to its fleet.
Controlled by Airbus, the program, still in deficit, is also owned by the Quebec government (25%). Airbus is gradually stepping up the production rate of the A220. The aircraft manufacturer aims to assemble 14 per month, for a total of 168 annual deliveries, to Mirabel and Alabama around 2025.