Airbus has deployed the A220 passenger aircraft to the Asia-Pacific region as part of its latest demonstration tour. The aircraft, an airBaltic A220-300, made a demonstration flight in Sydney (Australia) and will next fly to Singapore. The week-long campaign will see the aircraft make another two stops in Hanoi (Vietnam) and Tokyo (Japan).
On each leg, invited guests will tour the airBaltic aircraft, which features a comfortable layout of 145 seats in a single class passenger cabin. Airbus executives will also give product briefings of the A220 and guests can enjoy a demonstration flight.
The A220’s range and capacity make it ideal for carriers that want to open new regional routes out of Asia-Pacific, or require an aircraft for lucrative but thin routes out of the country. It also enables a more cost-efficient and seamless way to connect to and from international services to domestic and regional destinations.
The A220 is available in two versions, with the -100 variant seating between 100 and 130 passengers and the larger -300 variant seating between 130 and 160 in typical airline layouts. The A220 is also ideal for airlines that require an aircraft to complement the existing A320 Family.
By incorporating state-of-the-art technologies, the latest aerodynamic design and new generation Pratt & Whitney PW1500G geared turbofan engines, the A220 generates fuel savings of up to 25 per cent compared with older generation aircraft of a similar size.
Capable of flying non-stop on routes of up to 3,400 nautical miles (6,300 km), the A220 offers unmatched range capability allowing connections between the Asia-Pacific region, with Australia, North Asia and the Middle East.
Today, the A220-300 is operated in the Asia-Pacific region by Korean Air on both domestic and international services with 10 aircraft. Australia’s Qantas announced this week that it is ordering 20 aircraft as part of its domestic fleet replacement programme. Air Vanuatu has also ordered three A220s, comprising two A220-100s and one A220-300. To date, Airbus has received 740 orders for the A220 and delivered more than 200.
Asia-Pacific is a core market for Airbus and it is the fastest growing market for air transport with 5.5% annual growth in passenger traffic (versus a global average of 4.3%). Today the region accounts for a third of the European manufacturer’s total order book and a third of its revenues.
