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Air Canada agreed to expand a plane order from Airbus SE as the carrier looks to enlarge bits fleet amid the post-Covid rebound in air travel.
The carrier said it’s adding 15 A220-300 jets by converting options into firm orders, according to a statement that confirmed an earlier report by Bloomberg News.
The order follows a deal closed in 2016 for 45 A220s that included 30 options. Air Canada has already received 31 of those planes, according to Airbus orders and deliveries data for September. The market value of the 15 additional planes is about $528 million in 2021, based on prices provided by aircraft appraiser Avitas Inc.
The A220 is a Canadian aircraft, designed and launched by Montreal-based Bombardier Inc. before being sold to its European rival. When Air Canada placed its order for the model in 2016 it also secured purchase options for a further 30 jets, according to a statement at the time.
Representatives for Air Canada didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for Airbus in Asia said the company “doesn’t comment on discussions we may or may not be having with airlines.â€
The airline last month said it will purchase 30 ES-30 electric-hybrid aircraft to offer zero-emission flights to customers in Canada as soon as 2028. The planes, which are being developed by Sweden-based Heart Aerospace AB, are “much more cost efficient†and could help the airline expand in regional markets, Chief Executive Officer Michael Rousseau said at the time.
The lithium-ion battery-powered aircraft is expected to enter service in 2028. It will be able to carry 30 passengers for 200 kilometers in all-electric mode. Two turbo fuel generators could extend that range to 400 kilometers, Air Canada said in a statement. Charging time for the planes will be 30 to 50 minutes.
The landscape for plane deals is being revived as travel returns following two years of paralysis amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Chinese airlines have ordered aircraft worth more than $40 billion from Airbus in the past few months, while formerly state-run Air India Ltd. is in talks with Boeing Co. and Airbus to place one of the largest orders in commercial aviation history, Bloomberg News reported in June.
Air Canada is still running at about 80% of pre-pandemic levels, but business traffic has been coming back since Labor Day, Rousseau said.
—Bloomberg