Airbus is about to get a new order for the aircraft that was formally known as the CSeries, the A220. The customer is said to be the largest African carrier, the Ethiopian Airlines Group.
Airbus and Ethiopian are said to be on the cusp of agreeing on a deal for up to 20 of the type, with a lost price of more than $1.6 billion. They are in the final stages of talks which should be completed by the end of this year, Chief Executive Officer Tewolde GebreMariam said in an interview, Bloomberg reports.
One of the key reasons why Africa’s most consistently profitable carrier is going for the impressive and passenger-friendly aircraft is that it would get them before larger 737 Max aircraft it also has on order would arrive. Another reason is the range of the jet, which combined with its economic performance means the carrier can operate it on long thin routes direct, rather than stopping somewhere on the way to make it financially viable.
“It’s a good aeroplane -- we have been studying it long enough,” Mr Tewolde said last week, "With a range of five hours the jet is particularly suited to smaller markets that are relatively distant". Airbus remained silent when asked for a comment.
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