Air France has received its first A220-300 from an order for 60 aircraft of the type, the largest A220 order from a European carrier. The aircraft was delivered from Airbus’ final assembly line in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada and officially unveiled to the public during a ceremony held at Paris Charles-De-Gaulle Airport. The A220 is the most efficient and flexible aircraft in the 100-150-seat market segment today. The renewal of the Air France single-aisle fleet with this latest generation aircraft will increase efficiency along with customer comfort and support Air France to meet its environmental goals and sustainability objectives.
The first Air France A220-300 will be operated on its medium-haul network from the 2021 winter season. Currently, Air France operates a fleet of 136 Airbus aircraft. Air France is also renewing its long-haul fleet, and has already taken delivery of 11 A350s out of an order of 38. The Air France A220-300 cabin is configured in a single-class layout to comfortably welcome 148 passengers. Offering superior single-aisle comfort, with the widest leather seats, largest windows and up to 20 percent more overhead stowage space per passenger, the Air France A220 also features full WiFi connectivity throughout the cabin and two USB sockets at each passenger seat. As of the end of August, over 170 A220s have been delivered to 11 operators worldwide.
Intelsat providing connectivity
Intelsat has been selected by Air France to install its 2Ku high-speed, satellite-based inflight connectivity solution on 60 new Air France A220-300 aircraft. With deliveries commencing in 2021, the aircraft will fly to short and medium-haul destinations of the Air France network. Intelsat’s solution is the industry’s leading inflight connectivity (IFC) because it simply delivers the highest throughput and best reliability to aircraft and devices globally, providing a superior connected passenger experience and exceptional Net Promoter Scores (NPS).
“We are honoured to partner with Air France and delight their passengers with a superior inflight connectivity experience on Airbus’ state-of-the-art A220 aircraft,” said John Wade, president, Commercial Aviation of Intelsat. “This award expands the total Intelsat fleet at Air France to 143 aircraft, including widebody B777s and A330s. Air France is the third airline partner to select Intelsat on the A220 airframe and our first 2Ku line-fit European airline partner.”
Intelsat 2Ku is the most rapidly adopted satellite-based broadband connectivity technology in aviation, currently in use by leading airlines across North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Investing $2 billion, initially, Intelsat is building a unified global 5G network that will support virtually any access technology, enabling the next generation of global mobility, internet of things, and 5G services. Combining software-defined technology and a multi-orbit, multi-layer, multi-band network, we bring airlines the scale they depend upon and a single, more powerful way to connect easily.
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