Air France unwraps its first Airbus A220-300
As part of a fleet renewal, Air France has taken delivery of its first Airbus A220-300, the company’s latest addition to its fleet on its short and medium-haul network.
By 2025 Air France will have integrated the 60 A220-300s ordered in 2019 to gradually replace its Airbus A318s and A319s as well as several Airbus A320s.
“The arrival of a new aircraft is always a special occasion for an airline. All the Air France teams have spent over two years preparing for this moment and we are excited to see our customers discover the optimal comfort offered by this aircraft. The cabin is more spacious, brighter, and offers full Wi-Fi-connectivity, further contributing to the upmarket positioning of our offer,” said Anne Rigail, CEO of Air France.
The Air France Airbus A220-300 has 148 seats, in a 3-2 seat configuration (5 seats across) offering 80% of customers a window or aisle seat. It offers two travel cabins, Business and Economy, and access to Air France Connect, the airline’s in-flight Wi-Fi service, provided by Intelsat.
“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.”
“Accessing the internet and being able to stay in touch with family and friends while traveling has become a must have for our customers,” said Fabien Pelous, Senior Vice President Customer Experience of Air France. “We are happy to partner with Intelsat to provide this service to our customers.”
The seat is the widest on the market (48 cm). It reclines to 118 degrees and has an adjustable headrest, leather upholstery and an ergonomic seat cushion for enhanced comfort. A wide solid tray table, cup holder, a pouch for storing magazines and books, individual USB A and C ports and tablet or smartphone holder integrated into the backrest complete the package.
The cabin, the most spacious and brightest in its category, is decorated in the Air France signature colours – shades of blue, a strong presence of white providing light and contrast, and a hint of red symbolise the airline’s ‘excellence and know-how’. The carpet revisits the traditional ornamental herringbone pattern, symbolising the emblematic Haussmann-inspired world of Parisian apartments.
Large panoramic windows provide natural light for the duration of the trip. From boarding to landing, specially-adapted cabin mood lighting settings create bright, dynamic lighting for the welcome and disembarkation phases and softer lighting for a more relaxed, serene atmosphere during the flight. The spacious baggage racks are easy to access. The central aisle is particularly wide, allowing customers to move about at ease.
Finally, as on the entire Air France fleet, the air in the cabin is renewed every three minutes thanks to a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air)-type filter air recycling system that eliminates 99.9% of particles and viruses.