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By Bjorn Fehrm and Scott Hamilton
Feb. 19, 2026, © Leeham News: Airbus appears likely to launch the long-discussed stretched version of the A220-300, nominally called the -500, as early as the Farnborough Air Show in July.
Figure 1. This illustration, created years ago by Leeham News, shows the concept of a “simple stretch” for the “A220-500.” This illustration does not include some aerodynamic improvements LNA believes are necessary. Airbus is already planning a high-density version of the A220-300. Credit: Leeham News. Lars Wagner, the new CEO of Airbus Commercial Airplanes, told Reuters in January that he favors the new aircraft, which would seat ~160 passengers in single high-density configurations of the A220-300. Credit: Leeham News.
Lars Wagner, the new CEO of Airbus Commercial Airplanes, told Reuters in January that he favors the new aircraft, which would seat 165 passengers in single class configuration. Wagner assumed the position on Jan. 1. His predecessor, Christian Scherer, had long favored the stretch.
Wagner didn’t provide Reuters with any details about the new airplane. But Scherer told LNA last year that the debate within Airbus was whether to pursue a “simple” stretch or one with a larger wing and more powerful engines. A simple stretch trades range for capacity. Scherer told LNA that customers told Airbus they were more interested in capacity than range.
Figure 2: The ranges of the A220-300 and the proposed A220-500, using airline rules and calculated by LNA’s Aircraft Performance and Cost Model (APCM). Air France (CDG) and Delta Air Lines (ATL) have expressed interest in a stretched A220-300. Credit: Leeham News.
LNA confirms that a simple stretch is the preferred option. However, this does not mean that Airbus won’t tweak aerodynamics to improve operating and take-off performance and maintain as much range as possible. LNA has a good understanding of the likelihood of these tweaks and of the current proposed configuration of the A220-500. Using our proprietary Aircraft Performance and Cost Model (APCM), the -500 should have a range about 13% lower than the -300.
LNA’s APCM analysis is based on today’s information. The data is subject to final details when Airbus completes the design freeze.
Here’s our analysis.
