The first A220 of an order for 60 Air France aircraft was delivered

Photo from: Mercado e Eventos

Today, September 29, 2021, Airbus announced the delivery of the first A220 in the Air France fleet. The aircraft is part of a batch of several copies of the A220 model, recently launched by Airbus, to be delivered to the French company.

In July 2019, Air France had placed an order with Airbus for 60 aircraft of the A220 type, which at the time was still attracting potential buyers. The order, today, is considered the largest ever made for the model by a European company, and is planned, according to the website Aviação Brasil, to replace the veterans A318 and A319 of the French company.

The aircraft had been delivered by Airbus to Air France at the automaker's paint shop in Mirabel, Canada. However, it was only shown to the public during a ceremony held at Charles-De-Gaule International Airport in Paris.

As the latest pearl of the French company since the insertion of the A350, the A220-300 will have all of its 60 copies delivered by 2025. In addition to the aforementioned A318 and A319, the new model will replace some A320s. This order, as published by the Aeroin website, includes a mix of 30 options and 30 purchase rights.

“This new aircraft with unrivaled energy performance represents a great asset for Air France. So far, fleet renewal is the main source of reducing CO2 emissions, so we continue to invest in state-of-the-art aircraft,” said Benjamin Smith, CEO of Air France-KLM, in the Aeroin text.

“The arrival of a new aircraft is always a special occasion for an airline. All Air France teams have spent over two years preparing for this moment and we are thrilled to see our customers discover the comfort offered by this aircraft. The cabin is more spacious, brighter and offers full Wi-Fi connectivity, further contributing to the luxury positioning of our offering,” added Anne Rigail, CEO of Air France.

Named “Le Bourget”, in honor of a city located north of Paris that has a deep connection with the aviation industry, the aircraft bears the emblematic and classic Air France painting, with the Sea Horse at the front of the fuselage and in the winglets, personifying the founding myth of the company.

As of October 31, the A220-300 will fly to Berlin (Germany), Barcelona and Madrid (Spain) and Milan-Linate and Venice (Italy) from the Air France hub at Charles-De-Gaulle Airport in Paris. During the 2021-2022 winter season, the aircraft will gradually expand its network to cities such as Bologna and Rome (Italy), Lisbon (Portugal) and Copenhagen (Denmark).

The passenger cabin of Air France's A220 is configured in single class to accommodate 148 passengers. See the pictures:

Photo from: Air France/Aeroin

Photo from: Air France/Aeroin

Currently, Air France has a fleet of 136 aircraft from the manufacturer Airbus. The company is also modernizing its long-haul fleet and, for this, placed an order for 36 A350s, from which it has already received 11 aircraft. An addendum of information is that the model is already operating on the Paris-São Paulo-Paris route, landing at Guarulhos Airport.