Why is the A220 not popular?
Despite its considerable promise from an operational and passenger experience perspective, the airbus a220 hasn‘t had the best time in the last few years. The main source of its misery has been corrosion damage in the type’s pratt & whitney gtf engines that relates to a production issue. A handful of a220s have been scrapped to monetize for parts rather than be stored indefinitely, running up storage fees, awaiting new engines. Another reason sales have stalled: the a220 is essentially an orphan airplane. Only 118 a220-100s have been ordered out of 941, or 12.The A220 is now the second-most-delivered commercial aircraft in Airbus’s portfolio, albeit well back of the A320 family, which saw 607 deliveries last year. The A220 is on a really good trajectory,” said Christian Scherer, former CEO of Commercial Aircraft, in a media conference. The airlines love the airplane.
Why did the A220 fail?
RTX, parent company of Pratt & Whitney, confirmed that 7% of the A220 aircraft are grounded directly due to engine-related problems. The engine issue, stemming from corrosion damage linked to a production flaw, has forced several airlines to withdraw part of their fleets for extended maintenance. As of early November 2025, approximately 17% of the global Airbus A220 fleet is currently parked or inactive. This figure is driven primarily by ongoing Pratt & Whitney PW1500G (GTF) engine issues, including corrosion and maintenance backlogs, which have grounded a significant number of aircraft across operators.SWISS has grounded all nine of its Airbus A220-100s for at least 18 months due to ongoing problems with Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engines. The aircraft, introduced in 2016 as the Bombardier CS100, has been plagued by reliability issues linked to corrosion damage.As of early November 2025, approximately 17% of the global Airbus A220 fleet is currently parked or inactive. This figure is driven primarily by ongoing Pratt & Whitney PW1500G (GTF) engine issues, including corrosion and maintenance backlogs, which have grounded a significant number of aircraft across operators.