QantasLink welcomed its first Airbus A220 aircraft, sporting special Indigenous livery, which touched down in Sydney Airport after travelling from the Airbus facility in Mirabel, Canada on 20 December 2023 with stops in Vancouver, Honolulu and Nadi.
The first of 29 A220s to be delivered, the new aircraft will refresh the existing QantasLink domestic fleet of Boeing 717s. A further 36 widebody aircraft are also on order.
As part of its Flying Art Series, Qantas worked with Indigenous Australian design agency Balarinji, the Copyright Agency and Tjungu Palya Art Centre to reproduce senior Pitjantjatjara artist Maringka Baker’s painting Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa (Two Sisters Creation Story) for the aircraft.
The A220 will commence flying on the Melbourne-Canberra route in the first quarter of 2024.
Opening up new routes
As the first aircraft of its type in Australia, the 137-seat planes are expected to open up new, direct domestic and short-haul international routes.
A220s have double the range of the Boeing 717s, allowing nonstop flights between any two points in Australia.
Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said the A220 will provide improvements ranging from lower emissions to less noise and better passenger comfort.
“The size and range of the A220 means we can add new direct routes to our network that may not have been commercially viable before,” Ms Hudson said.
“More fuel-efficient aircraft is one way we’re working towards net zero and the A220 generates around 25 per cent fewer carbon emissions than the previous generation as well as being much quieter.”
Big investment in fleet and jobs
The A220 arrival is the Group’s biggest domestic fleet renewal program to date with Qantas taking delivery of one new aircraft every three weeks on average over the next few years.
The second A220 is currently on the final assembly line and will be delivered in January 2024. Another five A220s are scheduled to arrive between January 2024 and mid-2025.
“On the back of this fleet investment, we’re recruiting more pilots, cabin crew and engineers and expect to create around 8,500 local jobs over the next decade,” Ms Hudson added.
The first A220 will undergo regulatory approvals, airport readiness and crew familiarisation and training activities before entering commission in early 2024.
For more info, head to qantas.com