The Toulouse-Atlanta Connection

U.S. legacy air-carrier Delta Air Lines has disclosed an order for 12 additional Airbus A220-300 narrow-body jets, thereby bringing the airline’s total, firm A220 orders to 131 aircraft. All told, Delta’s order-book comprises 45 A220-100 and 86 A220-300 five-abreast, single-aisle airliners.

Currently, Delta is the world’s largest operator of A220 family aircraft.

Airbus vice-president of fleet Kristen Bojko stated: “The A220-300 offers efficient performance and flexibility. The continuing expansion of Delta’s A220 family is an integral investment in the future of sustainable aviation.”

Airbus chief commercial officer and head of international Christian Scherer set forth: “This additional order from the largest A220 customer and operator is yet another strong endorsement for the value and opportunities offered by this latest generation aircraft family. The A220 provides Delta the flexibility to right-size its operations, gaining in efficiency and offering superior single-aisle comfort. In service with Delta, the A220 has proven to be a game changer in its size category in highly competitive North America markets.”

Powered by a pair of 23,300-lbf. Pratt & Whitney PW1500G Geared Turbofan (GTF) engines and features fly-by-wire flight controls, a carbon composite wing, an aluminum-lithium fuselage, and optimized aerodynamics, Airbus’s A220 was, in point of fact, designed by Bombardier. The aircraft began life as the Bombardier Regional Jet eXpansion (BRJ-X), and was to have occasioned an evolution of the Canadian airframer’s popular CRJ series of regional jets.

The A220 offers operators maximum take-off weights of 139,000 to 156,000-pounds, and non-stop ranges of 3,450 to 3,600-nautical-miles.

As of March 2023, the global A220 fleet had accumulated north of 770,000 cycles and over 1,300,000 accident-free block hours.

The 115-foot-long A220-100 seats 108 to 133 revenue passengers, while the 127-foot-long A220-300 seats 130 to 160 ticket-toting souls. The A220 family complements Airbus’s A319neo and competes with Boeing’s 737 MAX-7 and the largest (E190 and E195) variants of the Embraer’s E-Jet E2 family. As of June 2023, Airbus reported 271 A220 deliveries on a total of 806 orders.

The A220 cockpit features Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics and a comprehensive suite of navigation, communications, surveillance, engine-indicating and crew-alerting systems (EICAS), as well as electronic checklists, aircraft maintenance systems, and dual head-up displays. A220 pilots are further assisted in their work by dual flight management systems, multi-scan weather radar, fly-by-wire flight controls with full envelope protection and speed stabilization, CAT IIIa Autoland, and Airbus-typical side-stick controllers.

The 100 and 300 variants of Airbus’s A220 share a common cockpit layout and pilot type-rating.

Delta took delivery of its first Airbus A220 in October 2018, and was the first U.S. carrier to operate the type. Currently, Delta operates a fleet of 433 Airbus aircraft, including 61 A220 jets, 280 A320 family aircraft, 64 A330s and 28 A350-900 wide-body aircraft.

FMI: www.airbus.com