Airbus has been promoting its A220 to a variety of carriers in Southeast Asia since it took over the former CSeries programme from Bombardier in July.
Aymeric Dupront, Airbus's head of airline marketing for Southeast Asia, says potential customers of the A220 are either new players seeking low operating costs, or regional-jet operators that want to modernise their fleets or operate aircraft larger than 100-seaters.
"In Southeast Asia, there are many regional airlines that operate one or two aircraft with around 100 seats. The A220 has the modernity of the A350, so it offers a new world of low operating costs for those kind of airlines," says Dupront.
Low-cost carriers also appear to be another target segment for the European airframer, with Dupront adding that the aircraft's operating economics suit the region well.
"Southeast Asia is a market that is very price-sensitive, and it is a market that is driven by low-cost carriers... Over 50% of the network is operated by low-cost carriers... seeking to reduce their seat-mile cost."
The A220 comes in two variants: the -100, which can be configured between 100 and 135 seats, and the -300, which can fit between 130 and 160 seats.
Dupront adds that the A220 will have a role to play in the rise of point-to-point traffic in the region. Given that a number of those new routes would initially have thin demand, they are better served with regional jets.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
