Quebec puts money back into the A220 | More than 400 million to remain a shareholder

(Mirabel) Quebec must put up 410 million (300 million US) to remain a shareholder of the old C Series until 2035, which gives it a little more time to hope to recover some of its marbles while the A220 is still struggling to get out of the red.

As The Press As revealed, the Legault government and the European aircraft manufacturer confirmed on Tuesday another reinvestment in the program that had been developed by Bombardier. Airbus will extend nearly 1.25 billion (900 million).

The money is to be used to accelerate the production rate of the A220, an essential condition for the profitability of the program, according to the multinational.

“We are consolidating the presence of Airbus, an aeronautics giant, in a sector that creates enormous wealth for our nation,” said Prime Minister François Legault, at a press conference at the aircraft manufacturer’s facilities located in Mirabel.

Formerly very critical of the investment of the Liberal government of Philippe Couillard in what was called the C Series, Mr. Legault was accompanied by the Minister of Economy and Innovation Pierre Fitzgibbon, the members Sylvain D’Amours (Mirabel) and Lucie Lecours (des Plaines) as well as the general director of Airbus Canada, Benoît Schultz.

This means that public funds injected since 2015 into this program developed by Bombardier are now more than 2 billion. The last round of financing – where the Legault government had extended 380 million – dates back to 2022.

Quebec agrees to loosen the purse strings once again to maintain its 25% stake in the Airbus Canada Limited Partnership (SCAS). Otherwise, it would have melted away and the state could have found itself on the sidelines. In exchange, the Quebec government is postponing by five years, to 2035, the date when Airbus, which owns 75% of SCAS, can buy back its stake.

The Legault government is betting that this decision will allow it to obtain more compared to a buyout in five years. The more profitable years the A220 accumulates, the better the chances of the Quebec state recovering part of its investment. The reverse is also true.

The program must first and foremost get out of the red.

Airbus aims to produce 14 A220s per month in Mirabel (Laurentides) and Mobile (Alabama) by 2026 – a sine qua non condition for generating profits, according to the European aircraft manufacturer. The speed at which the planes are built must therefore double in about two years to reach the target of 168 A220s per year.

Like other programs, the A220 is suffering from ongoing problems at several of its suppliers, including engine maker Pratt & Whitney. This is reflected in A220 production. At the end of the first six months of the year, the European manufacturer had made 28 deliveries, three more than in the same period a year ago.