Airbus SE is sticking with production plans for its newest jet, the A220 narrow-body, in Alabama even as it has put the brakes on output in Canada as the coronavirus decreases demand across the European planemaker’s lineup of aircraft.
A plan to accelerate output toward 10 a month from the current four at the main A220 plant in Mirabel, Quebec, will be postponed until mid-2021, an Airbus spokeswoman said. A goal to build four a month by the middle of the decade in Mobile, where a new assembly line has just started, remains unchanged, she said.
The slowdown on the A220 program acquired from Bombardier Inc. will add to the cuts announced by Airbus earlier this month in response to a rapid reversal of fortune for its airline customers. The company said then it would slash output to about 48 planes a month across its A320, A330 and A350 programs. At the time, Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury said the company was still assessing demand for the smaller A220. Read Alabama Newscenter’s full story here:
