Air France’s first A220-300 made its maiden flight on Thursday, the airline said. The Airbus aircraft took off from Mirabel Airport in Toronto (Canada) to carry out tests of compliance and operation of the flight systems.
More flights are expected to take place during September before the official delivery, expected in October. Air France has ordered 60 A220-300 jets that will replace the old A318 and A319 in its fleet.
The carrier will configure the 148-seat aircraft that will be used in the short and medium range air network. Air France expects to reduce fuel consumption by 20% and noise emissions by 34% compared to older generations of aircraft.
“It will play a decisive role in achieving Air France’s objectives, including a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions in absolute terms on the domestic network from Paris-Orly and on inter-regional routes by 2024, and a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions per passenger/km by 2030”, explained the company.
Air France’s A220-300 will offer wider seats, greater luggage rack capacity and in-flight Wi-Fi.
