Swiss International Air Lines (LX) has confirmed the permanent decommissioning of two Airbus A220-100s from its nine-aircraft sub-fleet, designating the airframes for part-out at Toulouse Francazal Airport in France. The two aircraft — registered HB-JBC (msn 50012) and HB-JBD (msn 50013) — were originally delivered to Swiss Global Air Lines, a since-closed regional subsidiary, in late 2016, ranking them among the oldest examples of what was then the Bombardier CS100. Swiss confirmed the decision to Aviation Week on May 28, 2026, stating the two aircraft will not be reactivated.
The move is a direct consequence of the protracted reliability crisis affecting the Pratt & Whitney PW1500G geared turbofan (GTF) engine, which powers every variant of the A220 family. Swiss has been grappling with GTF-related groundings since at least 2023, and the part-out decision represents its most definitive action yet toward winding down the smaller A220-100 sub-fleet entirely. “By dismantling [parting out] these two aircraft, we are specifically securing components for our own use,” a Swiss official told Aviation Week, crystallising a strategy that prioritises the economics and seat capacity of the 145-seat A220-300 over the smaller variant.
Registration, History, And Current Status of the two Aircraft Being Parted Out
HB-JBC completed its final revenue flight in mid-December 2025 and was ferried to Toulouse on January 16, 2026. Its companion airframe, HB-JBD, operated its last paying passenger service at the end of November 2025 and has been parked at Toulouse Francazal since January 5. Both aircraft spent their entire service lives with Swiss, which acquired them under the original Bombardier branding before Airbus completed its programme takeover in 2018.
According to data from planespotters.net, the Bombardier A220-100, registration HB-JBC (construction number CY125), was delivered to Swiss in October 2016. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney engines and carrying hex code 4B17E0, the aircraft was ferried from Montréal Mirabel (YMX) to Zurich (ZRH) on October 22, 2016, before entering commercial service on October 24, 2016. Named “Andermatt,” the jet was operated by Swiss Global on behalf of Swiss until April 19, 2018. It was later withdrawn from use and stored at Geneva (GVA) from December 19, 2025, to January 16, 2026, before being moved to storage at Châteauroux-Déols Marcel Dassault Airport (LFBF) on January 16, 2026.
Here’s a look at the details of the aircraft registered HB-JBD:
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Operator | Swiss (operated by Swiss Global until 19 Apr 2018) |
| Delivery Date | December 2016 |
| Construction Number (c/n) | CY125 |
| Engines | 2 × Pratt & Whitney (PW) |
| Hex Code | 4B17E1 |
| Aircraft Name | Bad Zurzach |
| Delivery Flight | Ferried from Montréal Mirabel (YMX) to Zurich (ZRH) on 8 Dec 2016 |
| Entry Into Service | 10 Dec 2016 |
| Storage | Stored at Geneva (GVA) from 22 Mar 2020 to 31 May 2020 |
| Return to Service | 3 Jun 2020 |
| Withdrawal from Use | Withdrawn from use and stored at Zurich (ZRH) from 30 Nov 2025 to 5 Jan 2026 |
| Current Storage | Stored at Châteauroux-Déols Marcel Dassault Airport (LFBF) since 5 Jan 2026 |
Toulouse Francazal Airport is home to TARMAC Aerosave, one of Europe’s foremost aircraft storage and recycling specialists — jointly owned by Airbus, Safran, and Suez — with a storage capacity exceeding 60 aircraft at the Francazal site alone. The facility’s proximity to Airbus’s own headquarters makes it a natural staging ground for A220 teardowns, with components remaining within the manufacturer’s immediate ecosystem.
How did the PW1500G Engine Crisis Come About?
The Pratt & Whitney PW1500G, a member of the wider GTF (geared turbofan) engine family, has been plagued by durability problems centered on contaminated powdered metal in high-pressure turbine and compressor components manufactured between 2015 and 2021. Pratt & Whitney has reduced life limits on PW1500G high-pressure compressor front hubs after corrosion was discovered during routine engine overhaul, forcing operators across the A220 fleet to pull powerplants for inspection far earlier than originally planned.
For Swiss, the knock-on effect has been severe. The airline has had more than ten aircraft grounded simultaneously at peak periods due to engine and spare-parts shortages, spanning both its A220 family and its A320neo sub-fleet, which uses the closely related PW1100G. “Currently, four A320neos are grounded due to engine failure,” a Swiss official confirmed to Aviation Week in May 2026.
As of early November 2025, approximately 17% of the global Airbus A220 fleet was parked or inactive owing to PW1500G issues. Pratt & Whitney has stated that improvements to engine deliveries, technology upgrades, and expanded MRO network investment should cut aircraft-on-ground incidents on the A220 fleet to near zero by the end of 2026 — but Swiss CEO Jens Fehlinger has expressed scepticism, telling Aviation Week that the airline expects GTF reliability problems to continue throughout the decade.
By extracting the 18 PW1500G engines embedded in its nine A220-100s and redirecting them to its 21-aircraft A220-300 fleet, Swiss can restore previously grounded -300s to revenue service without waiting for Pratt & Whitney’s MRO backlog to clear. The dismantling process will additionally yield other serviceable components for the airline’s broader maintenance operations, turning two airframes that would otherwise sit idle into a productive inventory of high-value parts.
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