The Coveted Jet Built for the Economics of the Pandemic
Photo Credit: JetBlue is introducing the all-new A220 in the middle of the pandemic. JetBlue Airways / Courtesy of JetBlue
Skift Take
The Airbus A220 is poised to emerge strong from the coronavirus pandemic with airlines keen for its low costs and small capacity. JetBlue is the latest carrier to add the jet as it moves forward with a major fleet transition amid the crisis.
If there is an aviation wunderkind to come out of the coronavirus pandemic, it just might be the Airbus A220.
The small narrowbody jet has proven popular among airlines even as thousands of aircraft were parked amid the historic drop in air travel during the crisis. The A220s size, seating between 100- and 150-passengers, and low costs have proven a sought after elixir to industry executives looking for the lowest cost way to keep flying when every penny matters.
"The A220 was the best performing production passenger airliner," Cirium head of valuations George Dimitroff told Skift. The jet retained more of its market value compared to other models through 2020 owing to "a combination of its right size for thinner traffic flows, lower fuel burn and trip costs."
By December, all but 17 of the 137 A220s in service around the globe — or 12 percent of the fleet — were back in service, according to the Cirium Fleets Analyzer database. For comparison, mor
