This archive report was first published on 1 August 2019.
The Airbus A220, a 100-seat jet, was one of the most contentious new planes to hit the market in recent years. Its journey began as the Bombardier C Series, designed by the Canadian plane-maker.
Delta Air Lines placed an order for several C Series planes in 2016 to replace its aging regional jets. However, Boeing, a major competitor, filed a complaint with the US Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission in 2017, alleging that Bombardier was selling the jets at an abnormally low price, using Canadian government subsidies to make up for the loss.
The two agencies agreed and imposed a massive penalty tariff on the jets, nearly 300% in total, which would have made the C Series prohibitively expensive and kept it out of the US market. Boeing claimed that the C Series was a direct competitor for the smaller variants of its 737, but the two variations of the C Series seat only 110 to 130 passengers, while the smaller Boeing 737 NG planes fit 125 to 150 passengers.
Less than a month later, Bombardier found a way around the tariff by selling 50.01% of the C Series program to Airbus, with no up-front cash investment. This transfer of majority ownership rendered the ITC ruling on the subsidies moot.
By summer 2018, the Bombardier C Series was officially rebranded as the Airbus A220. The A220 entered service with Swiss Air Lines in 2016, but it didn't start flying in the US until earlier this year with Delta, its US launch customer.
Business Insider reviewed the first US A220 flight in February 2019 and a longer flight a little while later. On a recent trip home from a weekend visiting family in Boston, I had the chance to fly on the A220 to see how the plane is holding up six months later and whether it still impresses.
