By powering both the Airbus A220 and the Embraer E-Jet E2 families, the Pratt & Whitney GTF dominates the 100-150 seat class of regional jets. The engine is much more efficient than the engines it replaces, including the Rolls-Royce BR700 found on the Boeing 717. Until now, the engine had proven reasonably reliable, although issues are now emerging. Still, the fuel-efficient engine has had a significant positive effect on regional air travel.
Bombardier developed the Airbus A220 as the CSeries as a regional airliner. The aircraft directly competes with the Embraer E-Jet series, with which it shares a common engine family. Bombardier was able to complete the development of the clean-sheet aircraft, partly thanks to Delta Air Lines’ investment. Even so, the cost of development was too much, and Bombardier sold the flagship aircraft to Airbus.
Modest But Respectable Sales
Airlines typically have more confidence in ordering aircraft from large and established airplane makers. The last thing airlines want from massive multibillion-dollar orders is risk. A clean-sheet aircraft made by a comparatively smaller airplane maker without any major orders from major airlines is risky. Confidence grew in the CSeries after Delta invested heavily in the program.
Even so, sales were modest until Airbus purchased the program in 2018. After that, sales took off and have been respectable. At the time, Airbus forecast the aircraft would see a total of around 3,000 orders over a 20-year period. That seemed, and still seems, to be an overly optimistic number of sales without deeply eating into the smaller variants of the A320neo or Boeing 737 MAX.
As of the time of writing, Airbus has accumulated firm orders approaching 1,000 aircraft. Around 941 Airbus A220s have been ordered, including 118 for the A220-100 and 823 for the A220-300. Around half (451) have been delivered, with another 490 remaining on order. This is a respectable number for a regional aircraft in this market segment. For reference, the Embraer E-190 E2 and E-195 E2 remain the main competitors to the A220 and were introduced around the same time (2018). A total of 308 E-Jets have been ordered, of which 181 have been delivered.
Reduced Fuel Burn Per Seat Compared With Older Airliners
The Airbus A220 operates in the 100-150 airliner market, while the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo start around the 150-seat mark. The closest competitor is the Embraer E-jet E2s. Compared with the E-jet, the A220 offers similar or even slightly better fuel burn per seat on many missions. Although this can vary depending on how the aircraft is being used. The stretched A220-300 also offers a slightly larger capacity than Embraer’s E195-E2.
The CSeries/A220 may compete with the E-jets, but it was designed to replace regional aircraft like the Boeing 717-200, Airbus A319, McDonnell Douglas MD-80/MD-90, and Fokker 100. Compared with previous-generation aircraft, Airbus says the aircraft offers a 25% lower fuel burn per seat, as well as half the noise footprint. Other estimates put the savings lower, although this might depend on what aircraft it is being compared with. Note that estimates are very approximate and depend on specific missions and seating configurations.
The A220 has around 20% lower fuel burn per seat compared with older A319ceo aircraft and older Boeing 737s. Compared with current narrowbody aircraft like the A320neo and 737 MAX, the A220 has the edge on shorter and lower-density routes, while the narrowbodies perform better on shorter and high-density routes. According to Aircraft Commerce, the A220-100 is significantly more efficient than first-generation E-190s and E-195s.
How Does The Airbus A220 Compare To The Embraer E2 For Regional Airlines?
Do Airbus or Embraer’s narrow-bodied airlines dominate the short-haul and regional market?
The PW1500G: An Optimized Engine
The A220’s PW1500G engine is a variant of the Pratt & Whitney GTF family of engines. It is the GTF variant optimized for the A220 with a smaller fan and lower thrust compared with that on the A320neo. At least until now, unlike the A320neo’s PW1100G variant, it hasn’t been plagued by the durability issues that have resulted in the groundings of many A320/A321neos. Compared with the A320neo, the A220’s engine is much smaller in fan diameter.
The powder-metal HPT disk manufacturing contamination and early vibration issues in the PW1100G did bring scrutiny to the PW1500G. This led to more inspections, but the engine was less affected, with the core power-metal disk problems being centered on its larger A320neo counterpart. Still, corrosion problems with these engines seem to have caught up with them, and, as of the time of writing, around 17% are grounded, of which 7% are directly tied to engine problems.
|
PW1500G engine (per Pratt & Whitney) |
|
|---|---|
|
Fan diameter |
73 inches |
|
Bypass ratio |
12.5:1 |
|
Powers of thrust |
19,000 lbf – 25,000 lbf |
|
Weight |
4,800 lbs |
The engine is part of PW’s GTF program that matured through the 2000s. Being a variant specifically designed and optimized for the A220, it has always been a core selling point of the aircraft. Only two families of engines currently power almost all regional and narrowbody jets sized 100 seats and up. The PW GTF powers the A220, is an option for the A320neo, and powers the E-Jet E2s. The CFM International LEAP family also powers the A320neo while exclusively powering the Boeing 737 MAX and COMAC C919.
The Regional Jet Of Choice For Delta
In 2018, Delta declared, “The A220 will serve as the cornerstone of our future domestic growth.” Delta became the aircraft’s launch customer in 2016 and stated it no longer planned to purchase the Embraer E190. Delta stated the aircraft’s geared turbofan PW1500G engine is developed from advanced technology and composite materials. Overall, the aircraft offers a 20% improvement in fuel efficiency compared with the similar-sized aircraft it replaced.
The A220 is also larger than some of the regional jets in Delta service that it replaces. Delta is by far the largest operator of the A220-100 variant, having 45 of the 73 examples Airbus has delivered. A total of 118 A220-100s have been ordered in total. The most popular variant is the A220-300, of which 823 have been ordered (378 delivered). Delta has placed an order for 100 of these jets (34 delivered) and plans to have an eventual A220 fleet of 145 aircraft.
|
Top five A220 customers (number ordered per Airbus) |
|
|---|---|
|
Delta Air Lines |
145 |
|
JetBlue |
100 |
|
airBaltic |
90 |
|
Breeze Airways |
90 |
|
Air Lease Corporation |
75 |
Delta uses its more efficient Airbus A220s on longer, mostly domestic routes, while using its aging Boeing 717s on short-haul flights. They are particularly operated from hubs like Seattle, Salt Lake City, and New York. Some of the longest Delta A220 routes are from Seattle to Washington-Dulles, Atlanta to Santa Barbara. Other significant routes include New York-LGA to Dallas/Fort Worth and Atlanta to Burbank.
The Aircraft Replacing The Boeing 717
As the Boeing 717 retires, modern planes like the Airbus A220 and Embraer E-Jets are stepping in to reshape the future of short-haul aviation
A Comfortable Cabin
Besides the engine, the cleansheet Airbus A220 is designed with a number of improvements, including improvements that passengers can enjoy. The A220 is designed to feel like a widebody aircraft, with passengers able to enjoy an exceptional amount of space. This is due to the aircraft having a 2-3 configuration that allows the seats to be wide. These seats tend to be around 18 inches wide.
In Delta service, the seats have a width of 18.6 inches and a pitch of 31 inches for base economy class (34 inches for Delta Comfort+). In Breeze, economy class seats come with Safran Z110i seats with a row pitch of 31–33 inches and a seat width of 18.8 inches. JetBlue is the other significant US-based operator, and it operates an all-economy configuration using Collins Meridian seats. They have a row pitch of 32–35 inches and a seat width of 18 inches.
At the same time, the A220’s overhead bins have the largest capacity in their class. Another feature passengers may notice is that the aircraft has exceptionally large windows for its class. These windows are the largest in Airbus’ current line-up of commercial jets. Measuring 11 inches by 16 inches, these are the largest airliner windows in that class. For example, the Boeing 737 MAX windows measure 10 inches by 14 inches.
A Transformative Regional Jet
The A220’s PW 1500G turbofan is one of the most efficient in its class and allows the A220 to be one of the best aircraft on the market in the 100-150-seat regional market. With approaching 1,000 aircraft ordered, the Airbus A220 has seen respectable sales in North America and Europe. The aircraft offers substantial fuel savings compared with older aircraft and is an alternative to Embraer’s aircraft and the smallest variants of the Boeing 737 MAX.
That said, only three US-based operators have ordered the A220 in large numbers. Besides Delta, the two US-based airlines that rely heavily on the A220 are JetBlue and Breeze Airways. Notably, Breeze is phasing out its Embraers and transitioning to an all-A220-300 fleet.
Canada is the home of the A220, and Air Canada also operates significant numbers of them, although WestJet does not. Outside of North America, most A220s are to be found in Europe, although Australia’s QantasLink is notable for purchasing them to replace its now-retired fleet of Boeing 717s. Comparatively few of them serve Asian destinations.
