Entered into service in 2016, and with a capacity of 100 to 160 passengers, the Airbus A220
is a new-generation narrow-body aircraft that lies between a regional jet and a more traditional
medium-haul aircraft. The A220, previously known as the CSeries, was initially produced
by Bombardier from a clean sheet design. In 2018, Airbus became a majority partner of
the CSeries Aircraft limited partnership and rebranded the CSeries as the A220.
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And in today's video, we are going to discuss “Why AIRBUS A220 Could Be the Perfect Aircraft.” So
without any further ado, Let's begin.
Air France’s A220 commitment is not only the biggest order in aircraft numbers but
also the fastest one in being executed. The first aircraft arrived from Montréal in Paris
and the last one of 60 is going to be delivered by 2025, with up to 15 per year coming in
the next few years. The A220 is currently commercialized in 2 versions: The A220-100,
the earliest model with a capacity of 100 to 135 seats in its highest density configuration,
and the A220-300, the extended version whose capacity lies between 120 and 160 seats.
The aircraft obtained a type certificate from
Transport Canada in December 2015. The aircraft secured type validation by European Aviation
Safety Agency (EASA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in June 2016. With fewer
seats and similar capacity to other single-aisle aircraft, the A220 has established itself
as the best option for post-coronavirus travel.
Airlines want planes that have a similar range and economic performance like the larger models,
but with fewer seats. For example, the A220-300 can carry passengers over 6,200 kilometers,
as much as the A320, but with 40 to 70 fewer seats. The reduced capacity also makes it
lighter, greatly reducing costs for airlines. Powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney PurePower
PW1500G geared turbofan engines. The jet extensively uses lightweight carbon-fiber
composites and boasts an aluminum-lithium fuselage and optimized aerodynamics. In its
marketing for the aircraft, Airbus claims the A220 is 25% cheaper to operate per seat
and uses 25% less fuel. The company says the type also emits 25% less carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions per seat and 50% less nitrous oxide (NOx) than CAEP/6 standards and generates
a 50% smaller noise footprint.
These savings align with the industry’s focus on being more cost-effective and environmentally
responsible. The airframe is made of advanced structural materials for achieving weight
savings. Advanced composite materials have been used for the empennage, rear fuselage,
nacelle, and wings. Advanced materials are composed of advanced composites (46%), aluminum-lithium
(24%), standard materials (21%), titanium (8%), and steel (1%). The whole industry has
been hammered by the recent crisis, some positive signals support the future of the A220.
First, it is interesting to note that the
A220 has convinced both LCCs (such as Air Baltic and JetBlue) and legacy careers (Swiss
and Air France for example). Furthermore, airlines set to launch their operations in
the upcoming months or years have chosen the A220 to be the spearhead of their fleet: Breeze
Airways, a new US airline has ordered 70 A220s, and Odyssey Airlines in the UK also intends
to begin operations flying the A220.
Latvia’s airBaltic aspires to be the first airline with a fleet completely made up of
A220 models. It currently has 22 A220-300 type aircraft and has 28 waiting. It added:
“We are also now working on increasing the A220-100 MTOW, as well as the max zero fuel
weight MZFW and max landing weight MLW on both platforms, the MZFW and MLW will be increased
by 1.78 tons.” Airbus continued:
“The new increased MZFW/MLW will offer operational flexibility in the form of additional payload.
This extra payload allowance will enable airlines to offer (to their passengers) more weight
on board. Combining this improvement with the MTOW increase proves that we are constantly
improving the performance boundaries of the aircraft.” Airbus’s spokesperson also
said: “The A220 is a young aircraft and has a lot to offer in the future.” "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. It can determine the aircraft's position and, in line with the flight plan, calculate
the course the aircraft needs to follow, a very smart autopilot. "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.
The mock-up will also be of great importance
to both customers who have already selected the A220 and for Airbus teams dedicated to
customizing the cabin. Airlines who are in the final configuration phase of their aircraft
will be able to test their lighting and seat selection in the mock-up before the delivery
of their aircraft. With a range of up to 3,450 nm (6,390 km), the A220-300 gives airlines
such as Breeze unparalleled operational flexibility.
Braathens Aviation placed a firm order for five A220-100s in June 2011. In January 2012,
PrivatAir placed a firm order for five A220-100 aircraft. In July 2014, Petra Airlines signed
a letter of intent (LOI) for two A220-100 and two A220-300 aircraft. Zhejiang Loong
Airlines also signed an LOI for 20 CS 100 aircraft in the same month. Delta Air Lines
placed a $5.6bn contract with Bombardier for 75 A220-100 aircraft in April 2016.
"The A220 embodies the Breeze ideal of merging
kindness with technology, pairing unrivaled passenger comfort with eco-friendly efficiency,"
said C. Jeffrey Knittel, Airbus Americas Chairman, and CEO. "With the A220, Breeze is giving
its passengers the widest cabin, highest ceiling, largest windows and largest overhead stowage
in this class, while still managing to burn 25% less fuel with half the noise footprint
of past generations."
The new capabilities offered by the A220 are another reason for the aircraft’s popularity.
According to Airbus’s marketing material, the A220 has a 3,100-3,300nm range. The type
can reach New York from western Europe, fly from Dubai to Bangkok or operate from Hong
Kong to Cairns, Australia. The fuselage is supplied by Shenyang Aircraft, and winglets
are delivered by GKN Aerospace. The actuation systems and low-pressure distribution systems
are provided respectively by Goodrich and Senior Aerospace.
Alenia Aeronautica delivers electric and flight control systems, lights, and antennas, while
Fokker Elmo is responsible for the wiring and interconnection system. The “cabin”
ratings given by the contributors at Flight-Report show a clear gain in comfort in the A220 compared
to other aircraft in the same segment. For Swiss, the average “cabin” rating of the
A220 reaches 8.66/10 versus 8.06/10 for the entire Swiss medium-haul fleet.
More generally, the A220 ends up outperforming
all its peers in terms of cabin comfort with an overall “cabin” average rating of 8.6/10,
which is 1.2 points higher than the 737-700 which ends last in this benchmark. The relatively
new cabins certainly help boost these grades, but it is the characteristics of the A220
itself that have retained contributors’ attention.
It has sidestick controls, head-up displays
(HUDs), five large-format LCD display screens, a sensed electronic checklist, wireless electronic
flight-bag capability, an intuitive flight-management system, an auto-throttle, and virtual electrical
circuit breakers accessible via the displays. Airbus’s spokesperson said: “From very
early on, our own pilots, as well as our customers’ pilots, have been involved in the aircraft
development.
The result is a cockpit design that is very ergonomic and intuitive. Pilots tell they
really feel it is very easy to fly.” Operators have positive reports. Air Canada’s spokesperson
told Aviation News: “The primary thing that impresses our flight crews is the ease at
which they can manually fly the aircraft.
“The primary flight-control system, coupled with the HUD, means flight crew has very effective
tools to guide the aircraft. The flight-path vector on the HUD shows the projected path
of the aircraft and can display the smallest flight-path trends almost immediately. “The
flight controls and the associated fly-by-wire systems allow for improved control of the
aircraft and flight envelope protection, which corresponds to an increase in safety and efficiency.”
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