Airbus enters preliminary work to offer lie-flats on the A220

Airbus is fielding interest from airlines to offer lie-flat seats as a linefit option on the A220 for longer-range routes, and says it is now looking at ways to support such a development.

Though the work is “very preliminary,” Airbus believes it could win new A220 business, including from brand new customers, if it accommodates a small, premium section with eight or so lie-flats, company head of single-aisle market development Christian Kley told RGN on the sidelines of a tour of the A220 final assembly line (FAL) in Mirabel, Québec.

There is also some market interest in a low-density, all-premium configuration with 38 to 40 seats, management confirmed during a subsequent media briefing.

The timing appears right. Premium travel continues to see robust growth. And multiple A220 operators already offer distinct two-class configurations utilizing 2-2-configured recliners up front — see Delta Air Lines’ A220-100s, as well as Air Canada, Breeze Airways and QantasLink’s A220-300s.

Additionally, Airbus is now closing in on a decision about whether to move forward with a simple stretch of the -300 to offer an A220-500 that would meet the needs of the 160-180-seat segment, in turn providing further flexibility for premium-minded airlines.

Delta Air Lines' A220-100 first class seats.

Delta is among the carriers offering a North American first class recliner product on the A220. (Several European carriers have a EuroBiz configuration aboard their 2-3-configured twinjets, with a blocked middle in the seat triple.) Image: Jason Rabinowitz

The niche group of unnamed airlines now expressing “strong” interest in a lie-flat product aboard the A220 is meaningful, Kley told RGN. While lie-flats on the A220 might never be big business relative to other cabin layouts, he said, the ability to facilitate those carriers who have expressed interest could seal the deal on new orders.

At a time when safety regulators have heightened their scrutiny of new herringbone seats — with neck impact criterion (Nij) and special conditions around oblique seats now part of the certification hurdles that must be surmounted — the introduction of angled lie-flat suites with direct aisle access on the A220 isn’t expected to be a cakewalk.

However, several seatmakers have already done some heavy lifting on the certification front to support the installation of lie-flats on narrowbodies flying long haul, including the A321LR/XLR. Thompson Aero Seating, for one, has specifically designed its popular VantageSOLO lie-flat for single-aisle aircraft, including the A220.

A Thompson executive is speaking to Mary Kirby as she is testing out the VantageSOLO seat on the show floor at AIX. SOLO can be installed on the A220.

On VantageSOLO, Thompson Aero Seating can offer bed widths of 24″ from only a 34″ pitch. Image: Thompson Aero Seating

Airbus Canada Limited Partnership CEO and head of the A220 program Guillaume Chevasson certainly seems to be convinced by the value proposition of offering lie-flat seating options in the A220 catalogue, telling journalists in Mirabel that the airframer is indeed seeing “a market for a lie-flat business class type of operation, and the A220 is a perfect candidate, and we’re discussing with customers on this.”

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Featured image credited to Jason Rabinowitz