The Qantas Group has taken delivery of its first of 29 A220s, making the Australian national carrier the 20th operator of the type.
In the coming days, the aircraft will depart the Airbus final assembly line in Mirabel, Canada and fly to Sydney, Australia. It will stop in Vancouver, Honolulu and Nadi along the way.
The first aircraft features a unique livery based on Aboriginal aircraft and will be operated by Qantas’ regional subsidiary QantasLink, which flies from Qantas Terminal 3 in Sydney to ‘a vast network of metropolitan and regional destinations across Australia’. It will gradually replace QantasLink's existing 717 fleet, bringing what Airbus describes as ‘a significant 25% reduction In fuel consumption and carbon emissions compared to previous-generation aircraft”.
Airbus has received nearly 850 orders from 30 customers for the A220, of which over 300 have been delivered worldwide.