Airlines are now receiving A220 regional twinjets from Airbus’ new delivery center at its Mirabel production line near Montreal. Air Baltic recently accepted the 50th of up to 100 A220-300s being added to its fleet by 2030 at the 75,000-sq-ft facility, which has four aircraft stands.

According to Airbus Canada CEO Benoît Schultz, the recent inauguration of the delivery center was an important milestone for the European aerospace group in its efforts to increase productivity for the former C Series program it acquired from Bombardier in February 2020. “This facility will help us increase the production rate, which is very vital in boosting economic profitability,” he told AIN.

The center, which uses low-carbon geothermal energy, includes a reception area, conference rooms, offices, kitchen, dining rooms, and a dedicated parking area for customers. One of the conference rooms is named after Rob Dewar, who is known as the “Father of the Airbus A220,” having led the original C Series project at Bombardier.

Diplomatic Response on Tariffs

During the Air Baltic A220 delivery ceremony, Schultz remained diplomatic when quizzed about the impact of U.S. tariffs being imposed on Canada and other nations. “The geopolitical context of the last few days reminds us that our mission is not only to develop, assemble, deliver, and support airplanes, but also to connect it from one country to the other and from one continent to the other, and it is a mission that we are very proud of,” he said.

Airbus Canada’s 75% stake in the Mirabel operation is owned by the Airbus group, while the government of Quebec holds the remaining 25% stake. Between the Canadian production line and its U.S. factory in Alabama, Airbus is now producing six A220s each month. It has so far delivered more than 480 A220s to 24 customers, serving more than 160 million passengers around the world.