ZHUHAI, China (Reuters) – Airbus SE is in talks with China’s aviation regulator about certifying its A220 narrowbody plane that has received strong interest from domestic airlines, the head of Airbus’ China business said on Tuesday.
Airbus China CEO George Xu said that the A220 would help airlines fill the gap between regional aircraft and larger narrowbodies and could be of particular use in the less developed western part of China.
The A220, which is larger than China’s homegrown ARJ21 regional jet and smaller than the upcoming C919 narrowbody, has been in service elsewhere since 2016 but it has still not been certified by China’s aviation regulator.
Xu’s comments were made on the sidelines of Airshow China, the country’s biggest air show.
(Reporting by Stella Qiu and David Kirton in Zhuhai; Writing by Jamie Freed; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
