AirAsia signs $19 billion A220-300 deal

AirAsia has signed a firm order for 150 Airbus A220-300 aircraft in a deal valued at approximately $19 billion at list prices. This is the largest single firm order ever placed for the type.

The agreement was formalised at a signing ceremony at the Airbus facility in Mirabel, Quebec, on May 6. It was attended by Capital A CEO Tony Fernandes, Airbus Commercial Aircraft CEO Lars Wagner, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Quebec Premier Christine Frechette.

The order also makes AirAsia a new Airbus A220 customer and the launch operator for the aircraft's new 160-seat cabin configuration.

What the A220 aircraft brings to AirAsia

With the lowest fuel consumption, longest range, and widest cabin of any aircraft its size, the A220-300 is capable of carrying 100-160 passengers up to 3,600 nautical miles.

As per the reports of CNN, AirAsia expects to fly the A220 in ASEAN and into Central Asia countires. It will leverage the A220's "just right" capacity to fill in thinner routes, while sending more of its larger narrowbodies on longer, denser legs.

All the planes in the order will be built in Mirabel, north of Montreal, and the same assembly line that was used to build the C Series program, which Airbus took over from Bombardier in 2018.

Industry perspective

Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A and Advisor to AirAsia Group, was direct about the strategic logic at Mirabel.

Fernandes also used the occasion to publicly push Airbus toward the next step. He addressed Airbus Commercial Aircraft CEO Lars Wagner directly. He stated that if Airbus builds the A220-500, a stretched variant carrying around 185 passengers, AirAsia would commit to buying another 150 aircraft.

A programme milestone with wider implications

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described the agreement as the largest order for a Canadian-designed and produced aircraft in history. He remarked that it would support thousands of jobs across Canada, from skilled trades to engineering.

By the end of March 2026, 501 A220s have been delivered to 25 operators from around the world. The AirAsia order will start in 2028, and with the Mirabel production line now having the order in hand, it should be able to continue producing well beyond the end of this decade.