In collaboration with Airbus, Air France has released footage of an Airbus A220 jet cruising over the Atlantic coast between la Pointe de Grave and the Southern Landes. The film marks the arrival of the A220 at Air France.
Air France makes a splash with its first A220 flights
Air France has received three A220-300s in the last couple of months. Scores more are on order. The plane starring in the footage is F-HZUA Le Bourget, which Air France took delivery of in September.
Just two weeks ago, Air France welcomed the first paying passengers onboard its A220s. On October 31, F-HZUA operated scheduled return services between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Berlin and Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Venice.
Since then, Air France’s A220 has been spotted operating scheduled services to Barcelona, Madrid, and Milan-Linate. Air France says they will gradually expand the A220 network to Bologna, Rome, Lisbon, and Copenhagen as new aircraft are delivered.
“The arrival of a new aircraft is always a special occasion for an airline,” said Air France’s CEO Anne Rigail. F-HZUA is named Le Bourget in homage to the town north of Paris which is deeply linked to the aviation industry.
The plane sports the emblematic Air France livery. F-HZUA also features the winged seahorse on the front of its fuselage and on its wingtips, the symbol embodying the company’s founding myth.
Strong environmental credentials make the A220 an attractive plane
As the A220s begin landing at Air France, the airline will use them to replace its Airbus A318s and A319s, as well as several Airbus A320s. The plane’s environmental and economic credentials made an A220 order purchase a no-brainer for Air France.
Air France’s new A220s provide a cost reduction per seat of 10% compared to the Airbus A318 and A319. The plane also stands out for its energy efficiency. It consumes 20% less fuel than the aircraft it replaces and CO2 emissions are also reduced by 20%. The A220’s noise footprint is also 34% lower than the older A318 and A319.
Like a lot of other airlines, Air France is chasing a net-zero emissions goal by 2050. Replacing older, less environmentally friendly planes with newer models like the A220 is key to that. By 2030, the airline will have reduced its overall CO2 emissions per passenger kilometer by 50% compared to 2005, or 15% in absolute terms.
The A220 is also a win for passengers
Sound environmental credentials might make the world a better place, but they aren’t necessarily something passengers will notice inflight. But Air France thinks its passenger-friendly 3-2 seat configuration on their A220s will get noticed. It’s a far preferable configuration to the 3-3 layout on the older A318s and 319s.
Air France says their A220 seat is the widest on the market at 48 centimeters. Seats recline to 118 degrees and have an adjustable headrest, leather upholstery, and an ergonomic seat cushion for enhanced comfort.
The airline says the large panoramic windows provide natural light for the duration of the trip. From boarding to landing, specially-adapted cabin mood lighting settings create bright, dynamic lighting for the welcome and disembarkation phases and softer lighting during the flight.
With inflight hygiene and health on everyone’s mind these days Air France is also keen to drum in the benefits of the High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters not just onboard their new A220s but installed across every plane in their fleet. The air in the cabin is renewed every three minutes by the HEPA filters, eliminating 99.9% of particles and viruses.
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