Airbus Canada could hire 500 people to produce more A220s

Air Canada unveils new Airbus A220 jet Air Canada has taken delivery of its new jet, an Airbus A-220, which was built in Mirabel and has its maiden flight this week.

MONTREAL — Airbus Canada has shelved plans to build two more plants in Mirabel to accommodate new projects, but says it still wants to ramp up production of the A220, creating at least 500 new jobs.

The French multinational is producing five ex-Bombardier C-Series aircraft per month: four in Mirabel and one in Mobile, Alabama.

The total number should increase to six per month by 2022 and 14 per month by 2025, with 10 aircraft assembled in Quebec and four in the United States.

This plan will require some hiring, confirmed Benoît Schultz, president and CEO of Airbus Canada.

While he would not give specific targets, Schultz said the Mirabel workforce of 2,500 will eventually reach the 3,000 mark.

Though the value of the Quebec government's 25 per cent stake is now considered "nil," according to the latest report from the Economic Development Fund, Schultz says he is "extremely optimistic" about the "ambitious roadmap" planned for the A220.

While the airline industry is still feeling the effects of the pandemic, the executive says he sees recovery on the horizon.

"The discussions we are having with our customers and potential customers are much more active than they were six months ago," he said. "What we see is that our clients are looking to the future again."

As of the end of October, Airbus has delivered 179 aircraft from an order backlog of 643 aircraft.

The program is expected to reach profitability in 2026.

"You have to keep in mind that this is not an unusual trajectory at all. It's not atypical compared to other programs we've developed," Schultz notes.

The profitability of the A220 will be linked to increased production, he adds.

"We need volume. Our sales teams are very active," he said. "We need to produce in larger quantities and have economies of scale and that's what we're doing with ramping up production."

The development of a stretched version of the A220 that can carry more than 160 passengers, which has been mentioned several times by company executives and customers, remains a possibility, but is not under immediate consideration, the CEO said.

"We remain focused on our few program priorities: satisfying our customers who already have the aircraft, continuing to prepare for a ramp-up of production and continuing to make the program efficient," he said.

NO NEW PLANTS IN MIRABEL

Airbus Canada has abandoned the idea of building two new plants in Mirabel that would have housed a fighter aircraft program for the Canadian military, as well as a satellite program for Telesat.

Simon Jacques, president of Airbus Defence and Space Canada, had mentioned the idea in early 2019, but the company has not commented on the project since then.

After qualifying and holding discussions with the provincial and federal governments, Airbus decided to withdraw from the bidding process to replace the Canadian military's F18 fleet, Jacques explained.

He did not explain why, but stressed that the company had to consider "the risks and costs" of a project in the defence sector.

As for the Telesat contract, Airbus had considered Mirabel or Florida for assembly, but the decision was made to set up shop in Europe.

Airbus Defence, which is headquartered in Ottawa, won its first major contract in 2016.

It received a federal order for 16 search-and-rescue aircraft; a $3.7 billion contract, including maintenance for 20 years.

Seven aircraft have been delivered so far and the rest are expected to be delivered in 2022.

Airbus is also pursuing a contract to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) fleet of Polaris A310s with A330 MRTTs -- an aircraft that is already in operation in 13 nations.

The company says it is negotiating with the federal government to determine which components of the aircraft will be produced in Canada.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 10, 2021.