What rival order pushed Airbus to launch the A320neo?

In 2010 Bombardier won an order for 40 CS300s plus 40 options from Republic Airways Holdings, which at the time owned Frontier Airlines, an all-A319/A320 operator. The deal took shape between 2009 and 2010, and Airbus executives made their competitive statements publicly at the company's 2010 annual media day. It was that order that triggered Airbus's anger and that would end up pushing the European manufacturer to launch the re-engined A320neo family.

Airbus's stance was summed up in a line attributed to the company: it would not do to Bombardier what Boeing had done to Airbus. The manufacturer was not going to let Bombardier establish a "beachhead" with the CSeries against the A319. In head-to-head competition, Airbus cut the price of the A320 and managed to shut Bombardier out of several deals.

The program had been on the market only a short time when the Republic order arrived: Bombardier's board of directors authorized formal CSeries sales proposals to airline customers on 22 February 2008. Early support for the aircraft included a letter of interest from Lufthansa for 60 aircraft, 30 of them as options.