Air France’s first Airbus A220 has recently departed from the Airbus paint shop in Mirabel, near Montreal. According to the reports, The jet will be handed to Air France in September, with the Air France livery.
The aircraft is painted in the new Air France colors, with the winged seahorse, the airline’s iconic symbol summarizing its long history, prominently displayed on the fuselage. The Air France typeface has been enlarged, the SkyTeam emblem has been relocated to the back of the plane, and the prominence of the Hippocampe Ailé, commonly known as the winged seahorse, has been increased.
In a 3-2 cabin arrangement, the Air France Airbus A220 can accommodate 148 passengers. Each seat will have to type A and type C USB connections, and passengers will be able to connect their gadgets to the internet via Wi-Fi. The A220 is now registered as C-FPBQ for Canadian check flights but will be renamed F-HZUA after being handed over to the airline later this year.
The fleet is expected to serve densely populated European cities such as Amsterdam, Rome, Brussels, Berlin, and London. The aircraft’s long-range capabilities, on the other hand, make it adaptable to hotspot regions in Africa and the Middle East.
Air France-KLM Group announced an order for 60 A220-300s in July 2019, all of which would be delivered to Air France. The jets will replace the company’s older A318 and A319 aircraft and have a similar capacity but a more excellent fuel economy and a more modern passenger experience.
This firm order was made in an attempt to reach targets, including halving CO2 emissions in France by 2024 and cutting CO2 per kilometer in half by 2030. The A220 is a great airplane for achieving these objectives. According to the airline, the plane emits 20% less CO2 and has a 10% lower cost per seat.
Air France announced earlier this year that the first A220 for its fleet would be delivered in September. The first aircraft observed emerging from the paint facility in Mirabel, complete with its Air France livery, is a step closer to this maiden arrival.
The first A220 for Air France will be subjected to extra inspections before being shipped to Europe. Before a final customer acceptance flight, it will go through a series of ground and flying testing before making the long journey to Paris to join the Air France fleet.
It will not enter revenue service until later this year, even though it should arrive in a few months. Air France aims to use the jet for training for more than a month, during which time crews will become familiar with the plane’s operations and capabilities.
Air France has already formed two core groups of employees to oversee the training of the new type. That will be the pilots and flight attendants, with nearly 700 Air France pilots and 2,500 flight attendants trained by the right instructor pilots and attendants who were prepared to fly the A220 for Air France in Montreal and Zurich last year.
The Airbus A220 has already proven to be an excellent investment for the company. Since taking over the program from Bombardier, Airbus has received orders for 648 of the type, with 164 already delivered.
The entire company, not just the pilots and flight attendants, is prepared to welcome the Airbus A220. The arrival of this next-generation aircraft is being anticipated by all operational sectors, from maintenance to station workers. Because of its more excellent range, comfort, low operating costs, and decreased environmental effect, Air France’s decision to add the A220 to its fleet should benefit the airline and its customers.
