Just had a flight today with an Air Baltic A220-300 aircraft. It is now easily my favorite medium haul airliner.

First of all it looks amazing, very modern sleek design. When it arrived at the departure gate it looked like a bigger business jet compared to an A320 next to it. I thought, it should be really tight in there compared to my experience with A320s and B737s. When I boarded, I was amazed on how spacious was the cabin. I had huge leg room and the cabin is very elegant and comfortable. What drew the biggest attention though was the windows. They are huge oval windows, giving a unique view of the planet from above. Arriving on sunset at my destination it was a phenomenal visual flight experience. Other than that the flight was smooth and enjoyable. Looking at the cockpit pictures, Bombardier did an outstanding job and more aircraft are planned to be delivered in the following years.

But mostly I would like to say this: I would pay any amount for a simulation of the A220 at a top quality level. I hope any of the 2-3 developers that I have in mind have this aircraft in their future plans.

 

 

Edited August 23, 20196 yr by Daedalus

You can thank Bombardier, also makers of the Dash 100-400, for the A220.  It was originally Bombardier's C series which Airbus saved via  partnership with Bombardier, to compete with the E-Jets from Brazil that Boeing has partnered with.  I am glad to read your report, it is the first I have heard from someone who has flown the C series.  I hated the CRJ 200 because its windows were almost at my waist, making it impossible to see the sky during a CRJ 200 fight making me quite nauseous.  Bombardier listened and their CRJ 700/900 - oh such sweet and quiet rides in the sky, last flew on them with my daughter to Disneyland about seven years ago or so.  I loved those aircraft due to their high windows, same reason I prefer the Boeing 737/747/757/767 and Douglas DC10 and Lockheed L1011.  I cannot wait until my first flight in an A220, or a 787, or an EJet in that order.....

From Airbus: "Airbus manufactures, markets, and supports A220 Family aircraft through the Airbus-Bombardier partnership, with Bombardier’s two jetliners – previously designated the C Series – being brought into the Airbus commercial aircraft line-up."

John

Edit: Thought I would share this cool video which shares an A220 experience--see what you mean about the windows!

 

 

Edited August 23, 20196 yr by John_Cillis

Thanks for sharing, what a good looking aircraft. Nice trip report.

That’s a nice presentation of the cabin :

 

 

Living in New Zealand my chances of flying on one are next to zero, I do find them to be a fantastic looking airliner as well and hope to get a chance 

1 hour ago, Matthew Kane said:

Living in New Zealand my chances of flying on one are next to zero, I do find them to be a fantastic looking airliner as well and hope to get a chance 

Maybe not in the immediate future but, with the ETOPS rating, I could see Air New Zealand using them for lower capacity routes.

https://simpleflying.com/airbus-a220-etops-approved/

Friends of mine arrived on a Swiss A220 recently, and were full of praise for the thing. They loved the space it offered... It certainly looks like a plane that I would choose if I had the option between it and the usual sardine-can-class 737 or 320!

Cheers

Mallard

FYI, the A320 cabin has a width of 3.68m and the A220 only 3.28m. The 'sardine can' feeling has almost nothing to do with the aircraft, only with the individual airline and how many seats they put into it.

Of course the seating arrangement makes all the difference. In a 3-3 layout it would be pure torture (and pretty much unusable). A five-breast seating in a 737 or 320 with the pitch and type of seats as shown in the cabin presentation video would mean sweetness and light, but it ain't gonna happen, is it? 😉

Cheers

Mallard

Well, you simply can't pay ridiculously low prices for tickets and expect spacious seating at the same time 😉 

While the cabin layout is largely dependent on the airline, in the A220 it isn't possible to do 3 abreast due to the narrower cabin. Basically it will only be what it currently is.