Air France unveils its Airbus A220!

After a year and a half of health crises that have left their mark on global air transport, and from which Air France will not have escaped, with passenger traffic down by two-thirds in 2020 compared with 2019, the Airbus A380’s disgrace as brutal as it was necessary, and the French government’s bailout of the airline, Air France needed a boost: the delivery of its first Airbus A220 is the perfect opportunity.

To mark the occasion, no fewer than 300 guests were invited to the grand inauguration at Hangar H6, Paris Charles de Gaulle.

Air France has ordered 60 of these Airbus A220s, which will replace and rationalize its fleet of Airbus A318s, A319s and some A320s. The larger-capacity A321s will stay. We will therefore be flying a non-negligible proportion of our short- and medium-haul flights with Air France on this aircraft.

The ceremony

Anne-Marie Couderc, Chairwoman of the Air France-KLM Board of Directors, followed by Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, Minister of Transport, took to the podium for the inevitable introductory speeches.

After a reassuring tirade by the Minister promoting France as “a nation of inventors, a nation of aviators, a nation of travelers“, it was time to unveil the aircraft’s baptismal name: Le Bourget, in a nod to the airline’s beginnings in 1933…

Next come the executives, starting with Ben SmithAir France-KLM’s Chief Executive Officer, who immediately announces the strategic direction for the coming years: citing the fact that the A220 consumes 20% less fuel and emits 34% fewer noise emissions, the intention is clear to address the drastic escalation in the tone towards air transport. I refer you to Bertrand’s excellent article on the Travelguys’ opinion on the subject.

To close the introductions, Anne Rigail, CEO of Air France, announces the first destinations for the Air France A220 from October 31: a first flight to Berlin, followed by Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Venice, Rome, Lisbon and Copenhagen. Her past as Customer Experience Director will come back to her, when she jokingly admits that there will be half as many customers with the middle seat on this new aircraft, due to the configuration.

The quintet gathers on stage to admire, with the audience this time, the new aircraft. An airline christening of this kind is no trivial event, and there’s a sense of emotion among the staff in the room.

The future of Air France’s medium-haul business unveiled

But let’s get closer to discover this new aircraft! The return to the roots is confirmed by this very marked tendency to feature the Air France winged seahorse.

Inside the Air France A220

The symbols of the airline are there: the winged seahorse on the outside, the accent on the inside.

The cabin is unsurprisingly laid out in a 3-2 configuration. The fabric headrests have been replaced by a more elegant, accented headrest.

Unlike similarly configured aircraft in the regional fleet, such as Embraer 170s and 190s, only every other seat in the left-hand row of the aircraft will be sold in Business class, restoring this class to its rightful place on the medium-haul network. The cabin is modular, with a sliding partition separating Business and Economy classes.

The seat is ergonomically designed and features a fold-out phone holder with USB A and C sockets. The latter are located on the seat opposite, so they have to be disconnected when the passenger at the window or in the middle wants to get up and walk down the aisle, unlike the USB A sockets on the A319/A320/A321 fleet, which have them at the end of the armrest.

The shelf is rather large and includes a cupholder.

With 148 seats, the pitch offered in this configuration is 30 inches with a seat width of 19 inches, and the recline is 118 degrees.

However, we regret the lack of amenities compared with Swiss, for example, which offers collective screens for security video or geovision.

An additional decorative element is the accent reminders on the carpet.

Here’s a video overview:

This one’s a collector’s item again…

It’s time to conclude this wonderful visit…

Bottom line: a logical choice for a smooth transformation

The A220 will be a welcome breath of fresh air for the airline. There’s no doubt that the financial vise and environmental pressure are tightening on Air France in the wake of the health crisis, and the A220 is an initial response to these exogenous transformation factors. Ben Smith, who is otherwise very discreet in the media, was on the microphone of Yann Barthès in the evening to explain to the general public the transformation efforts of the Franco-Dutch conglomerate.

Air France has opted for security with the A220, with a modern aircraft that is less expensive to buy and more fuel-efficient, making it a logical choice for the transition of its medium-haul fleet.

And Travelguys are fond of the first destinations announced: Madrid and Barcelona for Olivier, Copenhagen for Bertrand, Berlin for me… so why not give it a try?