Qantas‘ long-awaited Qantas A220-300 maiden flight (Airbus) has completed its first test flight from Airbus‘ Mirabel plant in Canada.
Showcasing its Aboriginal-themed livery, the A220 registration VH-X4A will be delivered to the Australian carrier in the coming weeks.
According to Qantas, the Airbus test pilots carrying out a number of standard checks of the electrical, navigation and communications systems, at both low and high altitudes.
Test flights are expected to continue over the next few years until the aircraft is delivered to QantasLink.
Qantas has decided to order 29 A220 jets as a replacement for the Boeing 717, jets based on the McDonnell Douglas MD-95.
The planes will be equipped with 137 seats, 10 in Business Class and 127 in Economy. In addition, they will offer twice the range of their predecessor.
In addition to the A220-300s, Qantas also has 45 A320neo and 75 A321neo pending delivery.
The Australian airline will also be the operator of the A350-1000, the largest widebody in production at Airbus, of which it has ordered 10 aircraft.
Some of these planes will be used in the Sunrise project, which aims to establish the largest long-distance flights ever undertaken.
