Airbus to invest up to €1bn in A220 passenger jet programme

The company has been ramping up production of the aircraft, formerly called the CSeries, towards its maximum monthly capacity

The A220, previously known as the CSeries, is a 110-130 seater aircraft, a little smaller than Airbus’s mainstay A320 jet.. (Photo by LOIC VENANCE / AFP)

Airbus plans to invest between €500 million (Dh1.98 billion) and €1 billion this year in its A220 passenger jet programme, chief executive Guillaume Faury said on Thursday at the company's A220 factory in Mirabel, just outside Montreal.

Earlier in February, Airbus raised its stake in the A220 programme, known as Airbus Canada to 75 per cent from 50.1 per cent after teaming up with the government of the Canadian province of Quebec to buy Bombardier's 33.5 per cent stake.

With the deal, Bombardier exited the civil aviation industry and bolstered the European planemaker's position in its ongoing competition with US rival Boeing.

The A220, previously known as the CSeries, is a 110-130 seater aircraft, a little smaller than Airbus’s mainstay A320 jet.

Airbus has been ramping up production of the A220 towards its maximum monthly capacity rate of 10 at its facility in Mirabel and to a monthly rate of four in Mobile, Alabama - targets it hopes to reach by the middle of this decade.

Production in the US has become more important for Airbus since the US government slapped tariffs on jets made in Europe for purchase by US airlines following a years-long tariff dispute.