Airbus has celebrated the 100th A220 aircraft produced for a customer during a ceremony at the aircraft programme’s headquarters in Mirabel, Canada. The aircraft, an A220-300, destined for Riga, Latvia-based airBaltic, features a brand new and comfortable cabin layout with 149 seats plus a modernised livery.
The A220 Family is assembled at Airbus’ main Final Assembly Line in Mirabel and more recently, also at the programme’s second assembly line in Mobile, Alabama. The world’s first A220 (formerly called the C Series) was delivered in June 2016 to A220-100 launch operator SWISS.
airBaltic became the A220-300 launch operator when the Latvian airline received delivery of the first-ever A220-300 three years ago, on 28 November 2016. airBaltic has since then re-ordered A220-300 aircraft twice – bringing its firm order to 50 aircraft to become the current biggest European A220 customer. The airline now operates a fleet of 20 A220-300 aircraft.
In an extremely competitive market, the aircraft’s unequalled fuel efficiency and excellent performance has been instrumental to airBaltic which has an all-A220 fleet as the backbone of its new business plan. airBaltic is operating its A220 fleet to various European and Russian destinations as well as to the Middle East. It currently operates the longest flight on an A220 – a 6.5-hour flight from Riga to Abu Dhabi.
Initially designed and delivered as the Bombardier C Series, the A220 is the only aircraft purpose-built for the 100-150 seat market; it delivers unbeatable fuel efficiency and widebody passenger comfort in a single-aisle aircraft. The A220 brings together state-of-the-art aerodynamics, advanced materials and Pratt & Whitney’s latest-generation PW1500G geared turbofan engines to offer at least 20 percent lower fuel burn per seat compared to previous generation aircraft, along with significantly lower emissions and a reduced noise footprint. The A220 offers the performance of larger single-aisle aircraft.
Close to 100 A220s are in operation with six operators on four continents. At the end of October 2019, the aircraft had received 530 firm orders from over 20 customers worldwide.
Toulouse, 29 November 2019
In a special ceremony, airBaltic celebrates its 21st Airbus A220-300 in an improved livery
Latvian airline airBaltic on November 28, 2019, at the Airbus aircraft programme’s headquarters in Mirabel, Canada celebrated its 21st Airbus A220-300 jet, registered as YL-AAU in an improved livery. The 21st aircraft for airBaltic marks the next phase in the airBaltic fleet modernization plan. From now on, all the company’s new aircraft will have greener tails, thus emphasizing airBaltic’s commitment to becoming a more sustainable airline operating one of the greenest fleets and launching other sustainability initiatives in the near future.
This will be the first delivery of the additional order that was signed on May 28, 2018, for purchase of 30 Airbus A220-300 aircraft with options for an additional 30 aircraft of the same type. Till the end of 2019, airBaltic plans to have a total of 22 Airbus A220-300 aircraft in its fleet, but by the end of 2020 – 26.
Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “We are truly proud to be the launch operator of the Airbus A220-300 aircraft which, being an integral part of airBaltic’s fleet over the last three years has demonstrated an outstanding performance. To introduce this aircraft was a forward-thinking decision that has most certainly paid off as A220 family aircraft are not only considerably more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly, but also more convenient for both passengers and staff. The vision of an all-Airbus A220 fleet by 2023 is the backbone of airBaltic’s Destination 2025 business plan and the celebration of our 21st A220-300 aircraft from the newest order marks another step towards the set aim.”
The 21st Airbus A220-300 is the 100th manufactured aircraft of this type thus in the honour of this milestone a special ceremony took place yesterday at the Airbus aircraft programme’s headquarters in Mirabel, Canada gathering Airbus and airBaltic representatives, partners and media.
Three years ago, on November 29, 2016, the world’s first Airbus A220-300 (at that time Bombardier CS300) aircraft registered as YL-CSA departed from Montreal-Mirabel and landed in Riga on November 30, 2016. airBaltic was the first airline in the world that launched commercial operations with Airbus A220-300 on December 14, 2016, on its route linking Riga with Amsterdam. The very first world’s Airbus A220-300 aircraft registered as YL-CSA also has just received the new, improved livery and on November 30 will land in Riga.
Thus far, airBaltic has carried over 4 000 000 passengers on the Airbus A220-300 aircraft with every second airBaltic passenger flying on the aircraft. Airbus A220-300’s have completed more than 40 000 flights and flown over 100 000 block hours.
The Airbus A220-300 has performed beyond the company’s expectations, delivering better overall performance, fuel efficiency and convenience for both passengers and staff. This aircraft offers an excellent flying experience with such benefits for passengers as wider seats, larger windows, more hand luggage space in the cabin, improved lavatories and much more.
The new aircraft is also considerably quieter – with a four times smaller noise footprint. Moreover, at the moment it is the greenest commercial aircraft in the world, as it is the first aircraft to have a transparent declaration of the life-cycle environmental impact, helping to reduce CO2 and NOX emissions by 20% and 50% respectively.
As informed previously, airBaltic aims to minimize complexity and benefit from the additional efficiency of the Airbus A220-300 aircraft, which will be the only jet type operated by airBaltic by the end of 2022.
