Christine De Gagne
SEPANG, Aug 4 (NNN-Bernama) — Airbus foresees demand for the new 100-150 seat aircraft to grow to at least 7,000 over the next 20 years with the Asia-Pacific region contributing 20 per cent to the market size.
Head of communications for Asia-Pacific Sean Lee said the company was targeting 50 per cent of the market share for both global and the Asia-Pacific region.
“The air transport market for this region is growing a lot faster than the other parts of the world, and the aircraft of this size is suitable for airlines that want to expand its regional routes.
“The aircraft is designed to serve not only short routes but also for longer flights as it can fly up to eight hours, for example from Kuala Lumpur to as far as Seoul (South Korea), North India and even down to Australia,” he told media at the Airbus A220-300 Regional Demonstration Tour here today.
Lee said the A220 family, comprising A220-100 and A220-300, was the only passenger aircraft purpose-built for the 100-150 seat market and was designed for full-service airlines with 20 per cent lower fuel burn as among special features.
Meanwhile, Airbus marketing director Christine De Gagné said the new single-aisle aeroplane was receiving “a very positive response” from operators and stakeholders in Malaysia.
“We believe the aircraft fits the market on its superior range while bringing 100 to 150 passengers to Japan or Australia,” she added.
De Gagnè said the new aircraft completed Airbus’ single-aisle offer by filling the gap between large single-aisle and regional aircraft.
She explained that the A220, originally developed by Bombardier in Canada as the C series, was a clean-sheet design that offered the best comfort in its class, such as largest and quietest cabin, as well as largest overhead bins and widest economy seats.
The A220 incorporates advanced materials combining corrosion and fatigue-free composites (wing), titanium and latest aluminium-lithium alloys (fuselage) for a lighter and more cost-efficient aircraft.
This aircraft also powered by two Pratt and Whitney PurePower PW1500G latest-generation engines, which translates to 20 per cent fuel burn advantage per seat compared to the current generation of a small single-aisle, as well as 13 per cent lower cost per seat.
As of today, Airbus had received 551 orders for A220 from 21 customers with 78 of the orders had been delivered to five operators, namely SWISS, airBaltic, Korean Air, Air Tanzania and Delta.
Airbus has over 60 per cent market share in the region’s single-aisle market with more than 3,000 aircraft in service by 80 airlines and over 1,500 on order for delivery.
Malaysia is Airbus’ third-largest market in Asia Pacific after China and India, and airlines in Malaysia have ordered 727 commercial aircraft across the company’s product line.
NNN– BERNAMA