The Airbus A220 appears to be the little plane that could. While most of the aviation industry
is still recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems that Airbus'
littlest jet has already forgotten about the crisis. In fact, scheduled flights are
exceeding those from before the downturn! In aviation, having the size of aircraft is
everything. On busy routes, you want the biggest planes to reduce your slot usage at key hub
airports. However, bigger isn't always better. The drop in passenger numbers prompted by the
COVID-19 pandemic has seen the smaller end of the commercial jet spectrum coming out ahead.
According to aviation data experts Cirium, it seems as though the Airbus A220 is now
exceeding its pre-pandemic schedule for the first time in terms of the number of flights operated
around the world. In June 2021, 11,914 Airbus A220 flights were scheduled to be operated.
This includes both the -100 and -300 variants. This compares to 10,570 in June 2019.
Crunching the numbers, the amount of flights increased by 13% over the two years. Looking
at future schedules, airlines are expecting to increase the number of A220 flights even
further. Indeed, a staggering 19,060 flights are presently scheduled for December 2021.
Of course, with December a few months out, the schedule could still drastically change.
A significant factor in the Airbus A220's increasing dominance in the aviation industry
is simply to do with the number of aircraft that can fly. According to data from ch-aviation,
158 aircraft from the Airbus A220 family have been delivered to airlines worldwide.
This includes deliveries under the aircraft's previous name, the Bombardier C-Series.
60 of these have been delivered since the start of 2020- 13 -100s and 47 -300s. It goes without
saying that a fleet increase of 61% will lead to a rise in the number of flights being operated by
the type. However, this only counts if the airline is actually operating the aircraft in question.
The Airbus A220 has two key advantages that have made it popular with airlines during the
pandemic. First up is its lower capacity, with a maximum of 135 passengers for the -100 variant
and 160 for the -300. Typically, however, the aircraft would seat fewer passengers.
This low capacity means that the jets are easier to fill during periods of extremely low demand.
The second big factor is the type’s major gains in efficiency compared to older aircraft. This
efficiency has allowed for lower operating costs in addition to increased ranges. This unlocks
routes previously not available or profitable. Both of the above points combine to make the
aircraft more attractive for airlines, especially while the demand for flights remains low.
According to data from Cirium, there are currently nine airlines flying the Airbus A220.
Delta Air Lines is currently the largest operator of the type in terms of scheduled flights,
followed by SWISS, airBaltic, and Air Canada, and EgyptAir.
Air Austral, Air Tanzania, JetBlue, and Korean Airlines operated under 1,000 flights in June.
In January 2019, Delta Air Lines held none of the Airbus A220 market.
However, thanks to rapid aircraft deliveries, it has grown to a crucial part of the market.
Meanwhile, Air Canada began flying the Airbus A220 at low levels in January 2020,
right before the pandemic really emerged. As such, it never really got a chance to establish
A220 operations before walking them back. This means that apart from a drop from
March to April 2020, the airline has only really seen growth with its A220 fleet.
What do you make of the A220's rise above pre-pandemic traffic levels?
How far do you think this trend will continue into the future?
And when might it level-off? Let us know what you think in the comments.