The Airbus A220 is a new-generation narrow-body aircraft that lies between a regional jet
and a more traditional medium-haul aircraft. The cabin provides passengers with wide seats
and generous personal space for a super comfortable experience. Its new-generation engines contribute
to the quietest interior in its class while also burning less fuel and reducing noise
levels during airport operations.
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And in today's video, we are going to discuss “Why Airbus A220 Rules The Aviation Industry.” So
without any further ado, Let's begin.
The A220 is the first commercial airliner to obtain domestic ETOPS certification from
Transport Canada. This capability is available as an option for A220-100 and A220-300 operators,
enabling them to fly for up to 180-minutes from the nearest diversion airport. As the
only aircraft purpose-built for the 100-150 seat market, the A220 delivers unbeatable
fuel efficiency and true widebody comfort in a single-aisle aircraft.
The A220 Series aircraft contains a high proportion
of composite materials; it features 70% advanced materials comprising 46% composite materials
and 24% aluminum-lithium. The main landing gear units retract inward, while the nose
gear retracts rearward. Each unit is twin-wheeled, for a total of six wheels on the plane. JetBlue
Airways placed a firm order with Airbus for an additional 30 A220-300 aircraft.
This takes the airline’s firm commitment
for the A220-300 to 100 aircraft. This latest agreement lifts the total firm order book
for the A220 to 740. The A220 has a range of up to 3,450nm (6,390km), with an impressive
environmental scorecard. Powering the A220-100 and the A220-300 are two Pratt & Whitney PurePower
PW1500G geared turbofan engines specifically tailored for the A220.
With a bypass ratio of 12:1, among the highest
of any turbofan engine in the world, these powerplants contribute to the A220’s 25%
lower fuel burn per seat when compared to previous-generation aircraft, as well as half
the noise footprint and decreased emissions. For Delta, the A220 serves primarily on short-
and medium-haul domestic routes. The airline launched a service with flights from New York's
LaGuardia Airport to Boston and Dallas.
“We’re already seeing benefits from the eight A220s we’ve added to the fleet, and
we’re very happy to have more on the way,” said Robin Hayes, chief executive officer,
JetBlue. “We’ve seen double-digit increases in customer satisfaction scores, and these
fuel-efficient aircraft support our leadership in reducing carbon emissions. With 30 additional
A220s on order, we’re in a position to accelerate our fleet modernization plans to deliver stronger
cost performance and support our focus city network strategy.”
Depending on the route, the Airbus replace
everything from small regional jets to 160-seat McDonnell Douglas MD-88s. Business Insider
had the chance to experience the Delta A220's economy and first-class cabins. In aviation,
size 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 by the global fleet. In June 2021, 11,914 flights were scheduled to
be operated by the Airbus A220-100 and A220-300. This compares to 10,570 in June 2019.
In other words, the number of flights increased
by 13% from June 2019 to June 2021. Looking at the future schedules of the aircraft, airlines
are currently expecting to increase the number of Airbus A220 flights even further over the
coming months. Domestically, it rivals United’s “high-J” Boeing 767-300ER, which features
a 16-row Polaris cabin with 46 pods, and American’s Airbus A321T that carrier’s high-end transcon
workhorse. There are three other A220 operators in North America.
Air Canada and Delta offer a first-class cabin, but both have just 12 recliners on their A220-300s,
24 fewer than Breeze will have. The third operator, JetBlue, outfits its A220-300 in
a 140-seat all-economy configuration. Breeze selected the Safran Z600 for its first-class
recliner. Each row is arranged in a 2-2 configuration, with 39 inches of pitch and 20.5 inches of
width. On a shorter flight, there is not really a cabin to avoid. On a longer flight, there
are a few different factors to consider.
While Breeze is a step above what other low-cost carriers are putting on their planes, some
passengers may find the upsell to "Nicest" to be a worthwhile purchase in order to get
a more comfortable experience. While Breeze has seriously teased lie-flats, the airline
has not confirmed the lie-flat product nor released a breakdown of the number of A220s
that will receive a lie-flat.
In addition to delivering best-in-class economics, the A220-100’s configurable cabin provides
two flex zones. This enables operators to benefit from fully customizable modular cabin
elements tailored to their needs including stowage areas and partitions to deliver an
exceptional passenger experience.
Delta Air Lines is currently the largest operator of the type in terms of scheduled flights,
followed by SWISS, airBaltic, Air Canada, and EgyptAir. Air Austral, Air Tanzania, JetBlue,
and Korean Airlines operated under 1,000 flights in June. In March, Airbus expanded its civil
aviation partnership with China, signing a General Terms Agreement (GTA) covering the
purchase of 300 aircraft by Chinese airlines.
“This aircraft is a game-changer for Air Canada as there is simply no rival in this
category,” said Mark Galardo, Vice President of Network Planning at Air Canada. “The
A220 will further strengthen our position on trans-border and transcontinental markets
and be instrumental in our continued growth. Our customers will benefit from innovative
design features in a spacious and comfortable cabin. When connecting through our hubs across
Canada onward to international destinations, customers traveling on an A220 will benefit
from a virtually seamless cabin experience offering the same level of service and comforts
as on a wide-body aircraft.”
He added: “The two routes announced today are the first of many future possibilities
as the A220 will allow us to further develop our North American network, offering customers
new routes and more robust year-round schedules.” That extra margin amounts to one more ton.
This brings the MTOW of the Airbus A220-300 up from 69.9 to 70.9 tons. And this comes
after the aircraft got a 2.3-ton MTOW increase in 2019.
It had shared that increase with its smaller
sibling, the A220-100. This time the increase only affects the larger variant. The controls
of the super-modern aircraft bear little resemblance to the clunky mechanisms found in older planes
though, the A220-300 is fully digital. Its state-of-the-art touchscreens more closely
resemble something from a spacecraft than an airplane. "It's a full glass cockpit,"
says Ramcke, gesturing around the flight deck.
"No round dial instruments anymore. All of the data is projected onto these screens."
The A220's Flight Management System is a computer system that automates a wide range of inflight
tasks. Meanwhile, the Flight Control System connects the side-stick, the throttles, and
the pedals, which the pilot uses to maneuver the craft. The overhead panel, says Ramcke,
"operates all of the systems."
"If we would go for a takeoff now, we would have made sure that all of the panels are
set up accordingly, then we would have set up FMS, then we would have our maps set accordingly,"
he explains. "On the takeoff run itself, we would put the power into a certain position,
check that the engine values are stable, and then the autothrottle system would be taking
over from there." The Emergency Descent Mode can be activated automatically or manually.
The automatic mode initiates when the cabin
altitude exceeds 14,500 feet while the plane cruises above 25,000 feet. A220 pilot Hicham
Chraibi tells Simple Flying that without any input from the flight deck crew, the system
automatically carries out the following: Actions the “EMERGENCY DESCENT” aural warning.
Deploys the autopilot if not deployed already.
Activates the auto-throttle if not engaged already. Decreases the thrust to idle. Altogether,
the manual and automatic modes perform the same features automatically except “Sets
Emergency Transponder code to 7700” and “Seat Belt sign to ON.” These factors
are solely part of the automatic activation mode.
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