The deal, for the French aircraft manufacturer’s 160-seat A220-300 model, marks “the largest order for a Canadian-designed and produced aircraft in history,” said Prime Minister Mark Carney. In his remarks before signing the purchase agreement, Tony Fernandes, CEO of Malaysia-based discount airline AirAsia, said he is pining for the A220-500, a 185-seat version of the aircraft that the company has teased but has yet to announce. “Get a move on,” Fernandes said jokingly to Airbus commercial aircraft CEO Lars Wagner at Wednesday’s signing. (The Logic)

Talking point: AirAsia’s order is a shot in the arm for Airbus’s assembly facility in the Montreal suburb of Mirabel, which employs over 4,600 workers. The A220 began as Bombardier’s C-Series aircraft before Airbus acquired a majority stake in the program in 2018. Investissement Québec, the investment arm of the Quebec government, retains a 25 per cent interest in the A220. “God knows we are in a time where we have to diversify our export markets and strengthen our alliances beyond the United States,” Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette said of the sale.