Air France repeats call for a stretched A220-300

Air France-KLM Chief Executive Ben Smith reaffirmed the group’s belief that a stretched version of the A220 Family aircraft “would make sense” as a replacement for Air France’s A320 fleet. Speaking during the Routes Reconnected online conference, Smith underlined that the Franco-Dutch group was also evaluating other options. “Of course, now that the B737 MAX is flying again, we could look at that. And, of course, there’s always the A321, the LR and the XLR,” Smith said. Air France has a firm order for sixty A220-300s which are due to replace its eighteen A318-100s and thirty-three A319-100s. However, the airline has yet to order a replacement for its larger, but equally aged, narrowbodies – forty-four A320-200s (11.2 years old on average), five A321-100s (26), and fifteen A321-200s (15.4). It has not ordered any A320neo Family jets yet. Although the carrier has strong links to Airbus and was the world’s first operator of an A320-200 in 1988, it used to also operate Boeing narrowbodies in the form of B737-200s, B737-300s, and B737-500s. The ch-aviation fleets history module shows that the last -500, F-GJNH (msn 25233), was retired by the carrier in May 2007. Since then, Air France’s narrowbody fleet has consisted exclusively of A320 Family aircraft. Air France’s sister carrier KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL, Amsterdam Schiphol) currently operates Boeing narrowbodies only, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows. It has yet to announce any fleet decisions regarding the replacement of its sixteen B737-700s, thirty-one B737-800s, and five B737-900s. KLM has never operated Airbus narrowbodies, although its chief executive said earlier this year that both the B737 MAX and the A320neo Families were in contention. Smith said that the group was also planning to review the long-term fleeting needs of Transavia Airlines and Transavia France, which currently operate a combined total of five B737-700s and seventy-five -800s.