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In the race for efficiency, passenger satisfaction, and market dominance in the small single-aisle aircraft segment, Airbus has made the A220 a cornerstone of its narrowbody strategy. But despite its sleek design, modern technology, and loyal customer base, Airbus now finds itself at a crossroads: Can it actually improve on what’s already considered one of the most advanced regional jets flying today? The company certainly thinks so. Airbus is planning a series of upgrades to the A220, including a refreshed cabin and a higher-capacity configuration. But analysts remain skeptical, questioning whether these changes are enough to justify the investment—especially as order numbers stagnate and profitability continues to elude the program. A Cabin Upgrade And A Capacity Bump In 2026, Airbus will begin delivering A220s with the Airspace interior, a cabin design previously seen on the A350, A330neo, and A320neo families. The Airspace package includes 16-million-color LED lighting, extra-large overhead bins that are 20% lighter and offer 15% more bag space, and streamlined mechanisms to improve turnaround times. These features are designed to create a consistent Airbus experience across its aircraft families and reduce operational complexity for airlines. The Airspace cabin also reflects a growing focus on brand identity and passenger well-being. In Ingo Wuggetzer, Airbus VP Cabin Marketing, emphasized the flexibility airlines will have with this system: “This ensures our airline customers can offer the award-winning Airspace experience to their passengers across the full spectrum of Airbus aircraft.” The lighting system alone, capable of simulating circadian rhythms, is marketed as a way to reduce jet lag by up to four hours. Additionally, Airbus confirmed that a 160-seat version of the A220-300 will be offered in 2027. This marks a roughly 10% increase in seating capacity without stretching the airframe or introducing a new model. Dj's Aviation recently noted that this configuration allows for greater revenue potential while maintaining the efficiency of the current model. According to Airbus HO of Cabin and Cabin Systems Engineering Jocelyn Gariépy, the redesigned cabin is based on a "clean-sheet" approach aimed at maximizing passenger comfort and operational value. These cabin enhancements will also be available as retrofits, allowing current operators to modernize their fleets. Airbus sees this as a bridge strategy—retaining existing customers while making the aircraft more appealing to new buyers. Whether that will stimulate additional orders remains to be seen. The Case Of The Missing Variant: A220-500 However, the long-rumored A220-500 remains notably absent from Airbus’s official plans. This stretched variant, which could seat more than 180 passengers, is widely seen as a necessary move to expand the A220’s market potential. Airlines like Breeze Airways and airBaltic have repeatedly expressed interest in a larger model that fits between the A220-300 and the A320neo. Flight Plan reported in April that Airbus has paused development of the A220-500 due to ongoing profitability concerns with the overall program. CEO Guillaume Faury has said that launching the -500 without first achieving profitability would be risky and potentially unsustainable. The sentiment is echoed by aviation analysts who believe Airbus is walking a fine line between innovation and overreach. Airbus has prioritized increasing output of current variants to reach profitability. But this strategy has pitfalls. According to Holve, if Airbus ramps up production to its target of 14 aircraft per month by 2026—as the company plans—it would burn through its current backlog of 498 aircraft in just three years. That backlog has already been threatened by weak order performance: only 17 new orders in 2024 and none in the first quarter of 2025. Historical Context: A Plane Built From Crisis The A220's current status cannot be fully appreciated without understanding its origin. The jet was born as Bombardier’s CSeries program in 2008, designed to fill a gap between regional aircraft and narrowbodies like the Boeing 737. The CS100 (now A220-100) first flew in 2013 and entered service with SWISS in 2016, followed by the CS300 (now A220-300) with airBaltic the same year, as chronicled in Safe Fly Aviation's March 2025 overview. Despite positive technical performance, Bombardier struggled financially. A major trade dispute with Boeing further complicated its access to the U.S. market. Airbus stepped in, acquiring a majority stake in 2018 and rebranding the jet as the A220. Airbus later expanded production to Mobile, Alabama, allowing the company to avoid U.S. tariffs and better serve American customers. This history is not just trivia—it underscores Airbus’s gamble. The company took on a struggling but innovative aircraft, and five years later, it's still refining how best to integrate the A220 into its product line and balance cost with capability. Is The Market Buying In? The A220’s reputation among airlines and passengers remains strong. Its design offers notable advantages: a 25% reduction in fuel burn per seat, lower CO₂ and NOₓ emissions, and a quieter ride due to advanced Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engines. But these technical feats have yet to translate into strong sales. As Flight Plan noted, the average annual order intake since Airbus took over in 2018 is only 95 aircraft. That’s not enough to justify long-term production at the planned rate of 14 jets per month. Forecast International predicts that, unless order volume increases substantially, Airbus will need to scale back production by the early 2030s. Meanwhile, as of 2025, more than 30 airlines operate the A220 globally, including major fleets at Delta, Air France, SWISS, and airBaltic. As we reported this month, many carriers, while pleased with the jet, see it as evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Pilots have raised concerns about the highly automated cockpit design, and some passengers have critiqued the aircraft’s cabin noise and peculiar engine sounds during taxi. Boeing's Missteps: An Opening? One wildcard in Airbus’s long game is the ongoing trouble with Boeing’s 737 MAX program. The MAX 7, which competes directly with the A220-300, has faced prolonged certification delays. This opens the door—at least slightly—for Airbus to poach long-time Boeing customers. The most high-profile example is Southwest Airlines. The carrier, which has flown Boeing 737s exclusively for over five decades, reportedly considered the A220 as a backup plan during the MAX crisis. As we discussed earlier this month, internal discussions went so far as to explore the acquisition of Breeze Airways, a startup operating 48 A220s with 42 more on order. The idea was that Southwest could integrate the type without disrupting operations too drastically. Ultimately, Southwest chose to stick with Boeing, highlighting a persistent problem for Airbus: fleet commonality. The A220 may be a better jet on paper, but transitioning to a new aircraft type comes with cost, training, and operational headaches that many carriers are unwilling to absorb. The Economics of Upgrade As Airbus braces for the 2026 cabin refresh, it is keen to portray the update as a low-risk, high-value investment. The upgrades come with minimal aircraft downtime and improve turnaround time at gates. Additionally, larger bins reduce gate-checking, a small but significant cost factor for airlines. The Airspace interior also boosts appeal for business travelers, contributing to yield improvement. Financially, these changes are intended to help Airbus improve the A220’s business case without the expense and complexity of launching a new variant. The hope is that increased customer satisfaction, higher seating capacity, and a premium feel will lead to more orders, especially from legacy carriers looking to modernize regional routes without adopting new large narrowbodies. The Airspace upgrade also signals that Airbus is trying to build longevity into the A220 program. By improving aesthetics and functionality now, Airbus is potentially extending the aircraft’s relevance into the 2030s and beyond. So, Can Airbus Really Make A Better A220? That depends on how "better" is defined. In terms of passenger comfort, the Airspace cabin and 160-seat layout offer tangible improvements. For airlines, increased capacity and lower per-seat costs are always welcome. But in the bigger picture—order volume, production sustainability, and program profitability—Airbus has yet to prove that these changes will move the needle. What Airbus is doing in 2026 and 2027 is incremental rather than transformational. The Airspace upgrade is smart branding and a modest operational improvement. The higher-density seating offers better economics but doesn’t expand the aircraft’s range or capability. And without the A220-500, Airbus is still leaving a potentially lucrative market segment unserved. Ultimately, Airbus may not need to reinvent the A220 to make it better. It just needs to sell more of them. And for that, it may take more than mood lighting and bag bins—it may take a bold move, like finally green-lighting the A220-500. Until then, the question isn’t just whether Airbus can make a better A220. It’s whether the market will give them the chance to try.
