Airbus Canada has signed a deal to supply AirAsia with a massive order of 150 of its Canadian-made A220 jets in a multibillion-dollar coup for Quebec’s aviation industry.
The agreement with the low-cost Malaysian airline marks the largest single firm order for the narrow-body planes—assembled north of Montreal in Mirabel—in the manufacturer’s history.
It also underscores Quebec’s role as a key hub in global aviation, said Lars Wagner, who heads the commercial aircraft division at Airbus, which bought a majority of the Bombardier C Series program in 2018 and rebranded it as the A220.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was on hand at the announcement Wednesday, framed the deal as an example of the benefits that flow from diversifying trade beyond the United States….