Airbus A220

The A220 is the Airbus that Airbus did not design. Bombardier launched it in 2008 as the CSeries [1], and the type codes a flight tracker shows for it, BCS1 and BCS3, still carry the old name. It comes in two sizes. Airbus quotes 100 to 120 seats for the A220-100 and 120 to 160 for the longer A220-300, with maximum ranges of 3,600 nm and 3,450 nm respectively [1].

That puts it below the A320 family. Its cabin is laid out five abreast, two seats on one side of the aisle and three on the other [1].

From Montreal to Toulouse

Bombardier launched the CSeries in July 2008 with two versions, the CS100 and the CS300 [2]. The prototype first flew from Montréal-Mirabel on 16 September 2013 [2] [3]. The longer CS300 followed it into the air on 27 February 2015 [3]. Transport Canada certified the CS100 in December 2015 [2], and Swiss put it into service on 15 July 2016 [2]. airBaltic became the launch operator of the longer CS300 in December 2016 [2].

Then came a trade fight. Boeing complained to the US authorities about the CSeries in April 2017, and the US Commerce Department sought tariffs of nearly 300% on it [4]. In October 2017 Bombardier agreed to give Airbus 50.01% control of the programme, and Airbus planned a new assembly line in Mobile, Alabama [4]. On 26 January 2018 the US International Trade Commission ruled unanimously that Boeing had not been harmed, which ended the tariff threat [4].

The Airbus deal closed in July 2018 and the aircraft became the A220 [2] [3]. Bombardier later left the programme altogether [2].

Built on both sides of the Atlantic

Final assembly happens at two lines in Mirabel, Canada, and one in Mobile, Alabama [1]. The wings come from closer to home. They are composite wings made in Belfast, at a site Airbus took over from Spirit AeroSystems [5]. In August 2026 Airbus began building an extension there to support its aim of 13 aircraft a month by 2028 [5].

Airbus says 40% of the aircraft is advanced materials, including carbon fibre composites and titanium [1]. The cockpit follows the Airbus pattern, with full fly-by-wire controls and sidesticks [1]. Every A220 has the same engine: the Pratt & Whitney PW1500G geared turbofan [3] [9]. Those engines were caught up in Pratt & Whitney's 2023 powder metal inspections too, although RTX said it would manage them largely within shop visits already planned [8].

By the end of August 2026 the A220 had 1,110 orders and 542 deliveries, with 538 in service [6]. By July 2026 it had carried more than 240 million passengers [2]. In July 2026 its biggest operators were Delta Air Lines with 86, JetBlue with 62 and Air France with 56 [2].

How to spot one

The A220 does not look quite like any other Airbus, which is the first clue.

• Count the cockpit windows. It has four, where other Airbus airliners such as the A320 and A320neo have six [7].
• Check the wingtips. Its winglets stick out from the wing at about 45 degrees [7].
• Look at the tail cone. The A220's is squarer, where the other Airbus narrow-bodies end in a round cone [7].

Its nearest rival is the Embraer E-Jet. The E195-E2 seats up to 146, against up to 120 in the A220-100 and up to 160 in the A220-300 [9], so the two overlap in size. From outside, rely on the three cues above, or check the type code on a flight tracker. Inside, the seat map settles it: the Embraer E195-E2 has two seats either side of the aisle, while the A220 has two on one side and three on the other [9].

Over Ireland

One A220 operator to look for is airBaltic. The Latvian airline has flown nothing but the A220-300 since May 2020, and took its 51st in December 2025 [12]. By then its A220s had carried more than 23 million passengers on nearly 241,000 flights [12]. It sells flights between Dublin and Riga [13].

Swiss has flown the A220-300 between Zurich and Dublin too. A review of that flight on 30 August 2020 described a two-three cabin and windows far larger than usual [11].

Dublin also had a sales visit. On 14 September 2021 Airbus brought an airBaltic A220-300 to Dublin on the first leg of a European tour, showing it to potential customers including major leasing companies [10]. airBaltic's chief executive, Martin Gauss, said the aircraft had "exceeded expectations", burning 21% less fuel than its older Boeing 737 Classics [10].

From the archive

In the five-abreast economy cabin, Airbus quotes 18-inch-plus seats and makes the middle seat wider still: 19 inches. [16]

The first commercial CS100 flight was SWISS’s Zurich to Paris service on 15 July 2016; the CS300 followed with airBaltic’s Riga to Amsterdam flight that December. [16]

In photographs

Look closer at the shapes, details and liveries. Every photograph links to its original and credits its creator.