Paris Air Show major order from BA?

Speculation is rife that British Airways (Cityflyer), under the IAG banner, will announce a major order at the Paris Air Show for up to 26 aircraft, replacing its present Embraer fleet at London City Airport.

IAG CEO Willie Walsh was quite open at IATA, saying that the choice was between the Airbus A220-100, and the Embraer E190 E2. He also said Cityflyer was very profitable, clearly passengers liking the 2+2 layout and the full "old-fashioned" service in both classes. Even with the current building works, the airport remains very popular.

With the Embraer, the choice is simple, swapping a 98-seat E190 (and 76-seat E170) for an aircraft with a longer range and up to 20% more economical.  

The A220-100 is 116 seats with a similar layout and much the same range, but with the possibility of perhaps up to three of the new aircraft being kitted out with 44 lie-flat Business Class seats with New York, Chicago and the Gulf region as potential target destinations. 

Crews would be common-rated, removing the current non-economic situation where in fact there are two British Airways-licensed operations at London City Airport, “mainline” Airbus A318 via Shannon to New York JFK and the Cityflyer Embraer fleet.

An order for the Airbus would be well received in Northern Ireland, where major components are manufactured.

www.ba.com

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