History was made on December 20, 2019, when Air Canada took delivery of its first Canadian designed and built Airbus A220-300. A few weeks later, Air Canada revealed this game-changing aircraft to the public in a ceremony at its Montreal headquarters, allowing media and employees to have a first-hand look at an aircraft that has become a key part of the airline’s narrowbody fleet renewal.

Fin 101, bearing the registration C-GROV in honour of former Air Canada President and CEO Calin Rovinescu, who was instrumental in Air Canada’s purchase of the fleet, took off for its maiden commercial flight from Montreal to Calgary on January 16, 2020.

As we celebrate the fifth anniversary of the A220 in our fleet, Air Canada has exercised purchase options for five additional aircraft, for a total fleet of 65.

Air Canada was the first carrier in North America to operate the A220-300, heralding a new era of comfort that is unrivalled on a single-aisle aircraft in the Air Canada fleet. The airline is the only Canadian carrier to operate this aircraft. The A220 is assembled in Mirabel, Quebec, supporting the vibrant Canadian aerospace sector with more than 4,000 jobs. Since the creation of the programme in 2018, the A220 has contributed $ 5.7 billion to the GDP, 33,242 jobs and $ 3.5 billion in labour income according to a recent PwC study.

“The A220 for us is an aircraft that is very versatile and very efficient, which only adds to the pride we have to be flying an aircraft built by Canadians,” said Alexandre Lefevre, Vice President, Network Planning - North America and Scheduling at Air Canada. “The future of the A220 at Air Canada is very exciting. It’s a future of growth that will bring with it new routes and an excellent passenger experience, making it a cornerstone of Air Canada’s narrowbody fleet renewal.”

“The efficiency and economics of the A220 have enabled Air Canada to expand its network across North America with routes that were simply not commercially viable with the previous generation of aircraft,” Alex added.

One of his favourite A220 routes, is Montreal to Austin, Texas. “The versatility of the aircraft allows it to do both short or long-haul segments across North America and to some Caribbean destinations,” he said.

A hybrid occupying a critical niche between a regional and regular narrow-body jet, Air Canada’s A220 is configured with a choice of two cabins, with 12 seats in Business Class and 125 seats in Economy. It features more personal space, larger windows, full-colour LED ambient and customizable mood lighting. Onboard Air Canada’s fleet, the passenger experience is elevated with the addition of a Panasonic in-flight entertainment system at every seat, as well as satellite-based, high speed Wi-Fi access.

“The first word that comes to mind when thinking about flying the A220 is ‘easy’. It’s an aircraft that is very intuitive, with well-designed systems that are not complicated for pilots. We have access to a ton of information that is easy to see and analyze,” said Captain Ian Beauchemin, an A220 Captain and check pilot at Air Canada. “I am extremely proud to be able to fly an aircraft that was built only a few kilometres from my base in Montreal. That it was built here, with all the engineering done in Quebec and Canada, and to fly this aircraft for the country’s flag carrier, I couldn’t be happier or prouder.”

“We are proud that Air Canada has not only ordered the A220 but also come back for more over the years as this demonstrates the value the aircraft is bringing with economic performance and passenger appreciation of its innovative cabin. This Canadian-designed and built-aircraft has also positively contributed to progress in reaching ambitious environmental goals for Air Canada,” said Benoît Schultz, CEO at Airbus Canada. “Congratulations to Air Canada on five years of achievements and thank you for the continued trust in Airbus teams in Canada, North America and worldwide.”

A few fun facts about the A220 at Air Canada

Fin 101 – In addition to the C-GROV registration in honour of Calin Rovinescu, his signature adorns the aircraft right below the captain’s window.

Fin 119 – This aircraft is painted in a special livery paying tribute to the airline’s history, featuring the TCA colours and logo from when the company was founded in 1937.