Airbus Canada has signed a deal to supply AirAsia with an enormous order of 150 of its Canadian-made A220 jets in a multibillion-dollar coup for Quebec’s aviation business.
The settlement with the low-cost Malaysian airline marks the biggest single agency order for the narrow-body planes — assembled north of Montreal in Mirabel — in the producer’s historical past.
The primary A220-300 is anticipated to roll the road in the primary quarter of 2028, mentioned AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes.
For Lars Wagner, who heads the industrial plane division at Airbus, the deal underscores Quebec’s function as a key hub in world aviation. The French-owned firm purchased a majority of Bombardier’s beleaguered C Collection program in 2018 and rebranded it because the A220.
“Authorities help is the spine of the innovation we see in this hangar, and we don’t take this without any consideration,” Wagner mentioned.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, who spoke on the announcement Wednesday, framed the deal for example of the advantages that movement from diversifying commerce past the US.
The settlement strengthens hyperlinks between Canada and southeast Asian nations, he mentioned, recalling a gathering he had with AirAsia’s chief government in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur final fall.
“We shared a imaginative and prescient of deepening ties between these nations that, in this disaster that we’re nonetheless residing via, are selecting to construct in the face of adversity — nations which have the arrogance to open up, to hyperlink their economies, to make investments in their staff, to transfer ahead, not flip again,” Carney informed the viewers on the Mirabel facility.
“Thanks for the belief you’re putting in Canadian staff, in Quebec, in Mirabel. You’re selecting one of the best at precisely the appropriate time,” the prime minister informed the AirAsia CEO, who was available on Wednesday.
Airbus has confronted manufacturing challenges at its Montreal-area plant over the previous few years, struggling to churn out greater than seven jets per 30 days on common — half of the brink wanted to break even.
The French firm has pointed to a variety of provider issues, citing shortages that run the gamut from wings to Pratt & Whitney engines.
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“The jury’s nonetheless out as to whether or not the Canadian product that Carney’s so gushing about is ready to be produced at a price that’s worthwhile for the producers,” mentioned John Gradek, who teaches aviation administration at McGill College.
Airbus Canada CEO Guillaume Chevasson informed reporters Wednesday this system remained “a number of miles away” from profitability. He goals is to produce 13 planes per yr by early 2028.
All 150 AirAsia planes might be assembled on the Mirabel website, Chevasson mentioned.
The ability now employs almost 5,000 staff, 2,500 of them employed in the previous 4 years.
“As well as to showcasing us on the worldwide stage, the aerospace business has the facility to convey new cash into our economic system whereas offering a livelihood for tens of 1000’s of staff,” mentioned Éric Rancourt, who represents the Worldwide Affiliation of Machinists and Aerospace Staff union in Quebec, in a press release.
After the announcement, Carney and Wagner helped AirAsia’s CEO right into a Montreal Canadiens jersey, after the prime minister introduced Fernandes with a mannequin airplane decked out in its signature red-and-white livery, with “airasia.com” emblazoned on the facet.
Dangers stay for presidency. Quebec, which now owns 25 per cent of Airbus Canada, has written off its preliminary US$1-billion funding in the C Collection as worthless. In October, it diminished by half the estimated worth of a subsequent money injection to US$300 million.
Given these difficulties, Western College professor Geraint Harvey mentioned the announcement comes as “nice information” for the governments and for staff in Quebec.
“One-hundred-fifty plane is an enormous order. It is usually an attention-grabbing transfer given the scenario in the Center East and the present volatility of gas costs and the impression on industrial airways,” Harvey mentioned, noting that many airways are slashing flight schedules quite than increasing.
AirAsia’s CEO appeared to anticipate the purpose.
“Folks might be questioning why are we shopping for so many planes throughout this newest disaster, however crises are a chance to make daring selections and to go on the market and be aggressive. And wars is not going to go on ceaselessly,” he mentioned, referring to the U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran that resulted in the efficient blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and hovering jet gas costs.
The listing value for the A220-300 is US$91.5 million. The events didn’t specify a price ticket for the acquisition, although it wouldn’t be uncommon for Airbus to pay lower than the listing value on such a big order.
“Mr. Fernandes over at AirAsia will need to have acquired a heck of a deal; nowhere close to the producer’s instructed retail value,” speculated Gradek.
The A220-300 carries between 100 and 160 passengers on flights of up to 6,700 kilometres, or about seven hours.
Some 501 A220s had been delivered to about 25 operators throughout the globe as of March 30, Airbus mentioned.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
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