Two Airbus A220-300s took on the Cyprus Airways identity before they ever reached Cyprus — applied head to tail inside Airbus Canada’s Final Assembly Facility in Montréal Mirabel.
A new type entering a fleet is the one moment when an airline can start with the right livery instead of correcting one later. Cyprus Airways took delivery of two A220-300s through Air Lease Corporation, and the full livery was applied at the manufacturer’s final assembly facility rather than after arrival.
LXM AERO ran the Part 21J Minor Modification, produced the livery and installed it on both aircraft on site in Canada. Both are now fully integrated into the Cyprus Airways fleet.
Working inside a final assembly facility means working to someone else’s clock, in someone else’s building, with the aircraft still in production flow.
An aircraft owner thinks about two dates: the one it goes on lease and the one it comes back. A painted scheme has to be sanded back or stripped and repainted at the end; a vinyl one is removed and the surface restored, without touching the base paint underneath. On a brand-new airframe that difference is worth a lot more than it looks.
The Cyprus Airways scheme was engineered and approved for the A220-300 as a Part 21J Minor Modification, so that both sistership aircraft could be delivered and integrated into the Cyprus Airways fleet directly.
EASA Part 21J Minor ModThe complete scheme was produced as a kit for each aircraft — a full head-to-tail set rather than a partial one, so that nothing had to be improvised on site in a facility where improvising is not an option.
Full livery, head to tailOur team travelled to Airbus Canada in Montréal Mirabel and applied both aircraft on site, inside the manufacturer’s facility and to its schedule. The aircraft did not wait, and they did not fly anywhere to be painted.
On site at the final assembly lineWith Air Lease Corporation as the owner, the scheme also has to be a scheme that comes off cleanly at the end of the lease. Vinyl is reversible by design, which is part of why it is the format lessors are comfortable with on a new asset.
Lessor-friendly by constructionIf a delivery is coming, the livery decision is easier now than after arrival. Tell us the type, the delivery window and where the aircraft will be handed over — including whether it is at the manufacturer.
