BOMBARDIER'S Belfast base has been boosted by yet more new orders for one of its manufactured planes.
US-based Delta Airlines has ordered an additional 15 Airbus A220 aircraft, the wings of which are made in Northern Ireland.
The latest deal brings the total Delta order to 90, after agreement on the initial 75, worth $5.6 billion (£3.8bn), was struck in April 2016.
The new order is Delta's first for the A220-300 aircraft, while the airline has also converted 35 of the previous 75-strong aircraft contract from the smaller A220-100 to the larger model.
Delta chief operating officer, Gil West said:
"These additional A220 aircraft will continue to strategically enable Delta to refresh our fleet, drive further advances in the customer experience and serve as an excellent investment for our customers, employees and shareowners for Delta into the next decade.
“We look forward to taking our first A220-300 in 2020 at the Airbus assembly facility in Mobile, Alabama.”
Airbus chief commercial officer, Christian Scherer believes the A220 is setting a new standard in short-haul flying.
"The A220 will provide passengers with a level of comfort and convenience that makes flying a pleasure again, while meeting Delta’s high standards for efficiency and reliability," Mr Scherer said.
The additional orders from Delta come less than a week after two separate deals were confirmed for the A220 aircraft.
Start-up US airline, Moxy has signed a firm order with Airbus to purchase 60 A220-300, while JetBlue Airways firmed up an order for 60 A220-300 planes, agreed in July.
Previously known as the Bombardier C Series, before US giant Airbus acquired a majority stake in the Canadian planemaker, around 1,000 of Bombardier's 4,000 staff in Northern Ireland work on the A220 project.
To date the A220 has an order book of more than 500 aircraft. Purpose built for the 100-150 seat market it is estimated to represent at least 7,000 aircraft over the next 20 years.
