Three days ago Air France’s first of 60 Airbus A220-300’s rolled out of the paint shop in Mirabel, Canada. Air France will be operating these brand new aircraft on mainly short and medium-range routes mainly out of their main airport, Paris Charles de Gaulle, to places like Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, and London. However, the Airbus A220’s long-range capabilities can make it a hot spot for places like Africa and the Middle East. Only six of these new A220’s will be delivered to Air France by the end of this year. The main reason why Air France placed such a large order for Airbus A220-300’s is to replace their aging Airbus A318 and Airbus A319’s thus, in turn, will help Air France reach their goal of zero net emissions by 2050.

Another new thing on the list about Air France is that they have updated their livery. While it’s not a large change there are some small differences such as larger font size and instead of the Skyteam logo being located near the cockpit it will be on the back of the fuselage. The most noticeable, however, is all Air France/KLM will be removed as well as the prominence of The Hippocampe Alié, also known as “The Winged Seahorse". The emblem dates back to 1932 when it became the logo of a French airline called “Air Orient". This airline mainly flew seaplanes and wanted a logo that showcased the power, speed, and efficiency of their airline. Therefore, the winged seahorse was born, with a horse head for power, bird wings for speed, and a shrimp tail for seaplanes. With the order of 60 A220 aircraft, Air France is currently the second airline with the largest Airbus A220-300 order, with the first airline being Delta Airlines based in the USA. 
 

One of the other popular topics about the new Air France A220’s is the interior. Air France’s A220’s will have a 3-2 cabin layout with the ability to seat 148 passengers comfortably and all seats will include a type A and type C USB port and all passengers will be able to enjoy Wi-Fi access from their personal devices. Another great thing is compared to the A318s and A319s Air France operates, the A220-300 will be 38% quieter allowing for increase passenger comfort on all flights. One thing you won’t have to worry about is the width of the aisle at 51 cm (20 in), making walking around the cabin quite easy, which is a quite rare sight on a smaller aircraft like the Airbus A220-300. A final benefit of the new aircraft is that crew shortages will not be an issue on the new A220. Currently over 700 pilots are either eligible or being trained to fly the A220 along with over 1000 flight attendants which will make delays very uncommon.  Overall the Airbus A220-300 will be a great addition to the Air France fleet and not just for the airline but for the passengers and the environment.