Air France and the A220 *

The Airbus A220 has been welcomed by Air France (AF) at a ceremony held at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

The aircraft is the first of 60 on order, the largest commitment from a European carrier, the planes assembled in Mirabel, Quebec (Canada).

The Air France A220-300 cabin is configured in a single-class layout to comfortably welcome 148 passengers. Offering superior single-aisle comfort, with the widest leather seats and the largest windows in its class and up to 20% more overhead stowage space per passenger, it features full wi-fi connectivity and two USB sockets at each passenger seat.  The A220 delivers up to 25% lower fuel burn and CO2 emissions per seat compared to previous generation aircraft, and 50% lower NOx emissions than industry standards.

What is interesting is that this is the Dash 300 model which cannot operate into London City Airport (LCY), where the French airline has a curious love/hate relationship over the years.  One of the original destinations for the airport (in a Brymon Airways partnership) it has at some time flown to either Charles de Gaulle or Orly. Currently the Paris destinations are not served.  

Back in history AF was said to be investigating the Airbus A318 for an LCY – New York (JFK) operation which prompted British Airways to purchase the aircraft and start the route.  AF then introduced a soon aborted LHR – Los Angeles (LAX) operation.  The airline’s London General Manager at the time was Christine Ourmières-Widener, now CEO of TAP Air Portugal.

Will Air France swap some of the Dash 300 models into Dash 200 that can operate out of LCY and also fly LCY – JFK direct?  It is the airline’s current golden target.

www.airbus.com/aircraft/passenger-aircraft/a220-family/a220-300.html

Index/Home page
 

OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum

Jim James, City of London

I started to use the Airbus to Zurich from LCY before the pandemic broke out. All I can say it that the aircraft was very comfortable, although a colleague tells me SWISS has now changed to Embraer.