Air France, the first A220 is ready to take off

Here at TFC, we have never hidden our love for the Airbus A220., ever since the first trip on this model when it was still produced by Bombardier and called the C-Series, we had fallen in love with this aircraft. And, now that more and more companies are getting the aircraft ordered from Airbus, we can only be happy.

In recent months we have seen Air Canada to receive its first A220, followed after a few weeks by American Delta, today it is the turn of the French company.

The celebratory video shows the dressing, or painting phase of the first of 60 A220s that will completely renew Air France's short- and medium-haul fleet. Crew certifications are currently underway and the first flight is scheduled for September.

Air France's Airbus A220 will accommodate 148 passengers in the classic 2-3 cabin configuration. Each seat will be equipped with USB type A and type C ports, and all passengers will be able to enjoy Wi-Fi access from their personal devices. So no new features and no surprises in this aspect, those expecting a JetBlue-like cabin will be disappointed.

The specifications of the A220

Made of lighter composite materials, the Airbus A220 consumes 20% less fuel than previous aircraft and has a reduced noise impact of 34%. It will thus play a decisive role in achieving Air France's sustainable development goals, including a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions in absolute terms on the domestic network from Paris-Orly and on interregional routes by 2024, and a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions per passenger/km by 2030.

Last September, eight instructor pilots underwent an eight-week theoretical and practical training course at the Airbus training center in Montreal. They are currently training their colleagues-including 28 other instructors who complete the team of pilots-using a Full Flight Simulator (FFS) mounted on special jacks and assembled at Air France's flight simulation center in Paris-Charles de Gaulle. Once Air France has taken delivery of the first aircraft, this simulator training will be supplemented by about 20 flights in real-world conditions in order to qualify for the A220-300. About 700 Air France pilots will subsequently be qualified for this model.

Who uses A220

Bombardier first and Airbus now have received a total of 648 orders for the two versions the A220/100 and the larger A220/300. The first aircraft entered service for Swiss Air in 2016, and a few weeks later the second aircraft took off in Air Baltic livery.

These two companies were joined by Air Canada, Delta, EgyptAir, Korean Air, Air Manas, and Air Tanzania. But especially changing the rules of the game was American Jet Blue by introducing the splendid configuration of its A220. In the coming years, dozens of carriers will receive their A220s, including the new Alitalia looks to this model for its revitalization plan.

• A220