Flight International 2022 11.pdf

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FlightGlobal.com
November 2022
US airlines
battle pilot
shortage
Ready to
climb?
C919 cleared for service, amid subdued demand
p18
Looking class
Alice debut
has Eviation
in wonderland
p20
Airbus considers
stretched A220
p16
Ukraine could build
Bayraktar UAVs
p26
9
£5.25
770015 371334
Feeling Clipper
Hydrogen cargo
airship floated
at investors
p48
1 1
Comment
Family planning
A stretch in time
Airbus
It seems ramping up single-aisle output is not enough of a
challenge for Airbus, with chief executive Guillaume Faury
backing the development of a third and largest A220 variant
A
irbus might not have a
stretched A220 on its
drawing board yet, but
given
the
frequency
with which the so-called ‘-500’
is mentioned at the airframer’s
briefings, there is a sense that
the aircraft is practically being
willed into existence by journalists,
investors and perhaps one or two
airline customers.
The ‘A220-500’ designation has
never been official; its origins lie in
an abandoned ‘Bombardier CS500’
trademark filed in 2009, and
dropped in 2014, several years be-
fore Airbus took over the Canadian
company’s CSeries programme.
But it seems nevertheless to have
stuck. Chief executive Guillaume
Faury referred to the A220-500
during a recent capital markets
event, indicating that its addition
would turn the A220 into a “power-
ful” family – arguably the strongest
endorsement of the hypothetical
aircraft to date.
That the A220 has emerged vic-
torious in its clash with the A319neo
is beyond doubt. As the CSeries it
had secured twice as many orders
as the Airbus jet even before the
acquisition – despite the European
airframer’s attempt to dismiss
the CSeries as being a serious
contender. With Airbus’s backing,
the now-A220 has recorded more
than 770 orders, eclipsing its rival.
The A319neo was born disadvan-
taged, not only by its development
as a shrink but also by the trend
for Airbus single-aisle customers
to shift the interest fulcrum be-
yond the A320neo and towards the
higher-capacity A321neo.
But even though the A321neo
is outselling its smaller sister, the
A320neo backlog is hardly a con-
cern, except in the sense that Airbus
cannot build the jets fast enough,
and it is likely to adopt the “ain’t
broke, don’t fix it” approach towards
replacing its ubiquitous twinjet.
That effectively leaves the A220-
500, likely to slot into the 140- to
170-seat segment, as a solution
looking for a problem, unless
Airbus finds sufficient rationale to
juggle the overlap between two
similar-sized aircraft.
Airbus’s development of the
A321neo into a sub-family includ-
ing the LR and XLR could signal a
gradual separation of its single-aisle
line-up. If the A320neo’s slide into
second place starts turning into a
relegation, the A220-500 seems
the obvious consolidation route for
the lower end of its range – particu-
larly given Faury’s assertion that the
A220 “needs” the stretched aircraft
to underpin its family potential.
But A320neo deliveries remain
strong as Airbus seeks to ramp up
single-aisle output to record rates,
and the airframer – still focused on
the A321XLR certification task – has
other A220 priorities to address
before embarking on the complexi-
ty of developing a new variant.
While it emerged relatively un-
scathed from the pandemic-driven
production-rate upheaval, the A220
programme remains loss-making
and Airbus is striving to bring down
costs, take monthly production to
14 aircraft, and achieve break-even
by the middle of the decade.
Which means the A220-500 will
probably be an aircraft in name
only for the time being, and Airbus
will have to keep repeating its
“when, not if” mantra to persistent
audiences until possibility turns
into necessity.
◗
See p16
November 2022
Flight International
3
In focus
Max variants to miss cut-off
6
CFM will not RISE to
supersonic challenge
8
A new chapter for Honda
10
Faury ‘relaxed’ on revised
A320neo-family ramp-up
16
C919 has long march ahead
18
Eviation takes first step
towards new future
20
USAF to explore blended-wing
tanker
22
Kyiv advances UAV pact
26
Prague backs F-35
27
Hypersonic threat propels
NORAD investment
34
Why AAM sector must win
hearts and minds
36
H2 Clipper’s funding round
48
36
On board?
AAM must win public’s trust
72
Regulars
Comment
3
Best of the rest
50
Straight & Level
76
Letters
79
Jobs
81
Women in aviation
82
4
Flight International
November 2022
Contents
In depth
On the level?
54
Pilot mental health was thrust
into the headlines by tragedies
such as the Germanwings
and MH370 losses, but
many factors can still cause
flightcrew to stay silent
Positive thinking
60
The HIV-positive first officer
who had to battle prejudice
to become a professional pilot
Seats to fill
64
Helping new recruits reach the
cockpit in post-pandemic USA
Crews on countdown
68
The clock is running down for
post-Brexit licence approvals
Centre stage
72
Bahrain will be pitching its role
as a global air freight hub at its
biennial air show
64
FlightGlobal.com
November 2022
US airlines
battle pilot
shortage
AirTeamImages
Ready to
climb?
C919 cleared for service, amid subdued demand
p18
Looking class
Alice debut
has Eviation
in wonderland
p20
Airbus considers
stretched A220
p16
Ukraine could build
Bayraktar UAVs
p26
9
£5.25
770015 371334
Feeling Clipper
Hydrogen cargo
airship floated
at investors
p48
1 1
60
27
November 2022
Flight International
5

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