Air Canada is to launch Airbus’ Airspace cabin product for the A220 next year as the manufacturer extends the concept to the small narrowbody type for the first time.
Airbus has already launched the Airspace cabin product on the A350, A330neo and A320 aircraft families. Air Canada is taking the full Airspace suite including new Airspace XL bins with delivery of its 43rd aircraft, which is expected in March next year.
“We have 35 right now, so we have a few more that will be delivered in the current standard,” explained Air Canada managing director onboard product John Moody during a media briefing at AIX to announce the commitment. “We have committed to 65 [A220] aircraft so far, with potential to go higher than that. This is a really important aircraft for us. We are very excited to introduce this standard on as many aircraft as possible.
“We don’t have any immediate plans to upgrade the first 42 airplanes, but you can imagine as we get to the next development cycle, those 42 will be prioritised in that next development cycle.”
The Airspace XL bins design increases bag capacity on the A220 by 15% – or up to 19 more passenger bags.
“It means easier bins to get in and out of, easier work environment for crews, it means less potential bags that need to be removed from the cabin and checked in, major improvements in OTP [on-time punctuality.,” says Moody. “It really is a win-win for customers, our crew and for the operation.”
Air Canada will disclosed further details of the revamped A220 cabin in line with introducing A321XLRs into its fleet.
“As we look at how we are going to evolve our fleet, this future architecture and design language is going to start flowing across more and more aircraft types within Air Canada flying,” says Moody. ”We are not ready to reveal at this stage some of those future cabins. We have A321XLRs which are just around the corner and I would imagine in a few months we are going to be revealing that interior.”
Airbus expects A220 line-fit for the Airspace to begin later in 2025 with retrofitting being available to A220 customers in the coming years. The cabin also offers new Airspace lighting features, including an optional third LED lightstrip under the new bins, contributing to the great cabin ambience. To complement the bigger bins, Airbus has also developed an improved Passenger Service Unit in line with Airspace design.
Airbus vice-president, cabin marketing, Ingo Wuggetzer, says: “Through the introduction of the A220 Airspace cabin, we now enable a fully consistent passenger experience on all our platforms providing widebody comfort on single aisle aircraft.”
