Air Canada is to continue expanding its fleet, with the airline taking an extra 15 Airbus A220 aircraft.
Air Canada Airbus A220-300 – Image, Airbus.
The order appears to be an extension of their current order, taking the order book from the airline from 45 A220 family aircraft to 60.
Currently, 31 A220-300 aircraft have been delivered to the airline.
The airline started its A220 service in January 2020 and currently operates over 30 A220s on transcontinental routes in Canada, as well as to the U.S. and to Latin America.
The airline took delivery of its first Airbus A220-300 in December 2019 and was the first airline to operate this model in North America.
Air Canada operates a fleet of over 125 Airbus aircraft, including 78 A320 Family aircraft, 16 A330 Family aircraft and 31 A220-300 aircraft. Air Canada also has an order for 10 A321 XLRs.
In Quotes
Mark Galardo, Senior Vice President, Network Planning and Revenue Management at Air Canada said:
“The A220 has become an important component in the modernization of Air Canada’s fleet and a key part of our narrowbody fleet, thanks to its performance and passenger comfort. Our customers truly enjoy the benefits of the A220, from its quieter cabin, larger overhead bins and comfortable seating. The A220 is the perfect aircraft for our North American network thanks to its economics, and its fuel efficiency also supports Air Canada’s commitment to reduce emissions on the way to its goal of net zero emissions from all global operations by 2050,”
Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International added
“We are honored that Air Canada is coming back for more A220s. This demonstrates the value the aircraft is bringing and we are proud to provide our customer with a high level of flexibility, great economics and a real passenger-appeal,”
“With already over 30 aircraft in service with the airline, the A220 has established itself as an efficient route-opener, as well as mainline workhorse, strengthening the carriers’ continental network while delivering on Air Canada’s ambitious decarbonization targets. We thank Air Canada for their continued trust in Airbus.”
Utilising the A220s benefits
With the A220 fitting nicely into the 100-150 seater space (and in most respects, replacing the smaller narrow-body Airbus aircraft including the A318 and A319), the aircraft offers a lower fuel burn and emissions.
With the ability to operate long and thin routes economically, it makes the type perfect for route launches, as well as connectivity-based routes where demand is not as strong, as well as the shuttle routes that need frequency over capacity.
Airbus’s purchase of the A220 programme has seen a surge, with over 220 A220s have been delivered to 16 airlines, with over 25 carriers ordering over 770 A220 aircraft.
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