Air Canada celebrates the arrival of its first Airbus A220, continuing its fleet modernization program

Air Canada unveiled the newest member of its fleet, the Airbus A220-300, before employees and special guests at the airline’s Montreal headquarters. Built in Mirabel, Quebec, the Bombardier-designed aircraft continues Air Canada’s fleet modernization.

The A220’s state-of-the-art design and cabin is destined to be extremely popular with customers, and this new aircraft will also help Air Canada reduce its carbon footprint through a 20 per cent reduction in fuel consumption per seat.

“This is an historic moment for Air Canada as we welcome the Airbus A220 into our fleet. We are the first airline in Canada to operate this next-generation aircraft, which was designed by Bombardier in Mirabel, Quebec. Our customers will enjoy a level of comfort unrivalled on a single-aisle aircraft and the A220’s operating efficiencies promise meaningful environmental and cost benefits. The arrival of the first of our order of 45 A220s, with a list price value of US$3.8 billion at the time it was made, underscores our contribution to Canada’s aerospace industry and its economy,” said Calin Rovinescu, Air Canada’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

“I am especially pleased today given Air Canada’s role in completing the 2016 order for the C Series, as it was then called, at a time when the future of this aircraft program was in doubt. We are very proud to have paved the way for orders from other major carriers,” said Mr. Rovinescu.

“Airbus is very proud to be celebrating with our longstanding customer Air Canada, as they add their first A220 to their fleet. Airbus has been in Canada for over 35 years, and today we are becoming even more Canadian as passengers from Canada are about to discover a brand new flying experience on board this state-of-the art Canadian-designed and built aircraft. Congratulations to everyone at Air Canada and to the Airbus Canada team in Mirabel for this fantastic achievement. We look forward to continuing to develop our partnership with Air Canada for the years to come,” said Philippe Balducchi, CEO, Airbus Canada Limited Partnership and Head of Country Canada for Airbus.

A220 Opens Up New Opportunities for Air Canada

Passengers will be welcomed aboard the A220-300 on January 16, 2020, on its maiden commercial flight between Montreal and Calgary. As more A220s enter the fleet, the aircraft will be initially deployed from Montreal and Toronto on existing Canadian and transborder routes such as to Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and New York – La Guardia.

The first two new A220 routes for Air Canada begin May 4, 2020 with the launch of Montreal-Seattle and Toronto-San Jose, California service, the only non-stop service between these city pairs.

“The A220 will allow Air Canada to further strengthen our position on transborder and transcontinental markets and be instrumental in our continued growth. The A220 will allow us to further expand our North American network, offering customers new routes and more robust year-round schedules. When connecting through our hubs across Canada onward to international destinations, customers travelling on an A220 will benefit from a virtually seamless cabin experience offering a comparable level of service and comforts as on a widebody aircraft,” said Mark Galardo, Vice President of Network Planning at Air Canada.