Airbus rolls out first A220 assembled in Mobile
Airbus rolled out the first A220 assembled at its plant in Mobile, Alabama, with the jet due to Delta Air Lines by September.
The A220-300 will be the first stretched variant of the the former Bombardier CSeries narrow-body for Atlanta-based Delta who introduced the smaller -100 in February 2019. The airline expects deliveries of six A220-300s, which it outfits with 130 seats, this year.
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Airbus has been working towards its first Mobile-built A220 since 2017. The assembly line came out of a trade dispute between Boeing and Bombardier as a work around for potential U.S. tariffs on aircraft built at Bombardier's factory in Quebec. While the tariffs were never levied, Airbus went ahead with producing the jet in Alabama and work on the new plant began last January. The first A220 assembled there began coming together in August.
Jets for both Delta and JetBlue Airways will be assembled in Mobile, under the European planemaker's plans. JetBlue expects its first of 70 A220-300s by year-end.
Related: First US-Made Airbus A220 Now In Production in Alabama
Delta is the North American launch operator of the A220. It debuted the A220-100 on select flights from New York LaGuardia (LGA) just over a year ago.
The carrier will configure its A220-300s with 12 first class, 30 extra-legroom economy and 88 economy seats, according to an internal fleet guide viewed by TPG. Passengers will be able to enjoy personal seatback entertainment screens and inflight Wi-Fi on the jet as they do on the smaller -100.
Delta has firm orders for 50 A220-300s, its latest fleet plan shows.
Related: Why I'm a fan of Delta's Airbus A220