By Tim Hepher and Padraic Halpin
DUBLIN, Jan 29 (Reuters) – Airbus is poised to start offering airlines and leasing firms a larger version of its A220 regional jet with a view to launching development later this year, industry sources said.
The campaign aims to pencil in enough orders to justify going ahead with the roughly 180-seat A220-500 version and marks the start of proper negotiations before a potential launch announcement as early as the Farnborough Airshow in July.
Airbus officials told financiers on the sidelines of the Airlines Economics conference in Dublin that 2026 would be a “big year” for the A220 and more details would be given soon, the sources told Reuters.
Any decision to go ahead and develop the so-called “simple stretch” design would be subject to Airbus board approval.
An Airbus spokesperson said it is exploring all options for the A220 and continues to focus on ramping up production and supporting customers.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher and Padraic HalpinAdditional reporting Allison LampertEditing by Adam Jourdan and Alexander Smith)