LONDON – On Sunday, October 16th, Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA Airways) entered its new Airbus A220-300 into service on its maiden voyage between Rome and Genoa.
Flight AZ 1383 departed Fiumicino airport at 9:21 am and touched down at Genoa’s Cristoforo Colombo airport at 10:23 am.
These A220s offer an environmentally friendly option on ITA’s short-haul routes between Rome Fiumicino and Milano Linate to destinations around Europe, such as Genoa, Turin, Naples, Geneva, Zurich, and Munich.
Manufacturer data suggests that it contributes 25 percent fewer emissions compared to older generation aircraft, as well as being both lighter in weight and quicker.
As reported last week by AviationSource’s James Field, the jet that took off between Rome and Genoa donned the exclusive livery that reads ‘Born To Be Sustainable’; the slogan is being used as a show of ITA’s commitment to sustainability.
This follows in the footsteps of one of its fellow fleets, the Airbus A350 that sported the same paint job back in June.
ITA’s two current A220S are the first of four in service that is due to be helping the airline become one of the greenest airlines in Europe. The goal of Italy’s new national flag carrier is to have 80 percent of its fleet made up of new-generation aircraft by 2026.
The sustainability commitment from ITA is to try and cut 1,300 tonnes of CO2 emissions between now and 2026. Hoping to support this goal is an order book full of Airbus aircraft.
With 39 A320neo/A321neo, 20 A220, 15 A330, and 2 A350 making up the sum of ITA’s current order book with the European plane maker.
The A220 has undergone a clean sheet design, which means that the manufacturer started from scratch in a bid to create a leading aircraft to service the 100 – 150 seat market.
Advanced materials, optimal wing dynamics, a low-drag nose, and tail cone design are all features, whilst being powered by “aircraft exclusive” PurePower PW1500G engines from Pratt and Whitney that optimize range and payload to improve efficiency.
A maximum range of 6,390 kilometers makes the A220 one of the lead aircraft types to service airlines’ short-haul and domestic routes.
Wider seats, bigger windows, and an increase of greater than 20% for passenger stowage space have all been built in as part of comfort improvements.
The Airbus A220 started life as a Bombardier C Series jet, but as the Canadian manufacturer struggled to stay alive under crippling debts due to development costs, Airbus stepped in to purchase a stake in Bombardier which included a 50.1% majority stake in the C Series program.
From a marketing and sales perspective, Airbus has succeeded where Bombardier seemingly struggled.
There are 773 outstanding orders from 28 different customers; 319 of these orders came when it was still the Bombardier-made C Series jet.
ITA is set to take delivery of two more A220s in the coming weeks.
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