The Airbus A220 is a narrow-body aircraft that was first introduced 2016. Three years on, a select group of airlines currently operate the medium-range jet. Here is a look at which operators use the A220 and which routes they serve.

The Bombardier-produced aircraft comes in two variants - the A220-100 and the larger A220-300. There are currently six commercial airlines that actively operate the relatively new aircraft. 

Swiss 

Swiss International Air Lines was the launch operator of the A220 in June 2016, when it was billed as the Bombardier C Series. Along with this, the European outfit holds the most of these jetliners. According to Plane Spotters, Swiss holds nine A220-100 and 20 A220-300s. The carrier flies this model on close-range European routes such as Amsterdam, London Heathrow, Madrid, Milan, and Paris Charles de Gaulle. 

Earlier this month, Swiss had to cancel 50 of its flights due to A220 safety issues. A failure of an engine on three different flights on the Geneva-Heathrow route caused the grounding of its A220 fleet. However, the airline and Airbus were quick on the scene to get the aircraft running again after just eight hours.

airBaltic

Latvian flag-carrier, airBaltic was the second airline to introduce the A220. However, they prefer the A220-300, operating 20 of them. airBaltic state that these jets are mostly being used for flights to Moscow, Amsterdam, Paris, London, and Barcelona.

Last year, the carrier started the rollout of improved cabins on its A220s. The company announced that all of this aircraft type will have new, comfortable seats with more legroom. 

Delta

Delta Air Lines has the second-highest amount of A220s. However, unlike its counterparts, it only holds A220-100s. The United States carrier currently operates 25 of these smaller models. Delta's A220s hold 109 seats each, with 12 in the airline's first class, 15 in Delta Comfort+ and 82 in the main cabin. 

Despite having a fair amount of the aircraft, the carrier only introduced them in February this year. The airline operates the A220 daily from airports across the US such as New York, Detroit, Salt Lake City, and Seattle. They have also introduced additional routes during Christmas and New Year period, helping those in northern cities reach southern hubs such as Austin, Tampa, West Palm Beach, and Fort Myers.

Air Tanzania

The East African airline only operates two A220s. The chosen pair are both A220-300s, which were delivered last winter. Air Tanzania mainly use the jet to fly to local airports from its Capital, Dar es Salaam. Last month, one of its A220s suffered an engine problem shortly after takeoff at Mwanza. Despite the issue, the carrier is expecting ten more deliveries next decade.

Korean Air

The South Korean flag-carrier also favors the A220-300, holding 10 of them altogether. Korean Air first introduced the aircraft in January 2018, using them for regional routes. Some of the most popular services with this aircraft are the four daily flights to Japanese airports. Fukuoka, Nagoya, Sapporo New Chitose, and Tokyo Narita all flown to from Busan with the A220.

EgyptAir

EgyptAir also holds two A220-300s. One of these is used for the main company and the other is for EgyptAir Express, its regional subsidiary. Routes Online reports that the group currently flies the aircraft weekly from Cairo to Abha, Baghdad, and Gassim. 

There is also a daily flight from the Egyptian capital to Sharjah. Additionally, by the end of this year, there will be further A220 services to Budapest, Erbil, and Muscat.

There are still over 400 A220s yet to be delivered, meaning that we are still yet to see many routes operated by the aircraft. Have you flown on a route with an A220 yet? Let us know your experiences in the comment section.