Story ID: 484
ACJ TwoTwenty Makes Inroads in Business Aviation
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: Airbus is seeing consistent growth in sales of its ACJ TwoTwenty, the corporate version of the A220 airliner. 
Word Count: 403
“This is an important market for us,” said Chadi Saade, Airbus Corporate Jets v-p of commercial, referring to the ultra-long-range and VIP business jets with which ACJs compete. The company’s newest offering for this market is its ACJ Two Twenty, the corporate version of the airline A220 (former C Series) that Airbus acquired from Bombardier.

With an airliner heritage, the ACJ TwoTwenty has some distinct advantages over its conventional business jet brethren, according to Saade. Its six-zone cabin, he said, “is two to three times the size of other ultra-long-range aircraft for the same acquisition price. The kind of customers who had a [traditional ultra-long-range jet] said, ‘If I can have the same thing for the same price at twice to three times the cabin size, with a proper bedroom and dining table, it’s a no brainer.’ The experience you can have onboard is unique, space is unique.”

Compared to large business jets, the ground footprint of the ACJ TwoTwenty is only slightly larger. This is despite the ACJ TwoTwenty’s cabin measuring about 10 feet longer than its competitors, because its engines are mounted on the wing and don’t take up any space on the aft fuselage, unlike traditional business jets.

While the ACJ TwoTwenty burns more fuel, “it is cheaper to operate,” he said, because its maintenance costs are lower. There are so many A220s in airline operation that parts cost less and maintenance and training are widely available anywhere in the world at reasonable prices.

The ACJ TwoTwenty’s Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engines are designed to rarely if ever be removed for maintenance. “[Operators] will probably never have to remove an engine,” he said, given the fewer number of flight hours that business aircraft typically fly. Also contributing to the lower operating costs is the ACJ TwoTwenty’s low-use maintenance program.

Airbus has already see commitments for five ACJ TwoTwentys this year, with total orders reaching 10 since it was launched. “We didn’t see a slowdown [during the pandemic],” Saade said.

The ACJ TwoTwenty cabin offers 786 sq ft (73 sq m) of floor space and 5,210 cu ft volume, and it is taller and wider than the Falcon 10X and Gulfstream G700. It can fly 5,650 nm or 12 hours carrying eight passengers and has a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet. Typical cruise speed is Mach 0.78.