Showing a strong commitment to the A220-300, JetBlue Airways has inked a firm order with Airbus for a further 30 examples of the twin-jet at the ongoing Singapore Airshow 2022.
Thanks to the February 15 deal, it boosts the New York-based airline’s -300 tally to 100 firm commitments. Simultaneously, the European airframer’s A220 orderbook now stands at 740, including both -100 and -300 variants; around 15 operators are currently using almost 200 of the type across four continents.
As of today (February 15), JetBlue fields an eight-strong inventory of 140-seat A220-300s, each equipped with Pratt & Whitney PW1500G geared turbofan powerplants. Their maiden example, N3008J (c/n 55099) Rob Dewar, was handed over on December 31, 2020 before the type entered into fare-paying service with the airline a few months later in April 2021 – for an in-depth feature exploring the carrier’s A220, see Airliner World, March 2021 edition as well as an exclusive guided video tour of the cabin here on Key.Aero.
Robin Hayes, chief executive officer, JetBlue, said: “We’re already seeing benefits from the eight A220s we’ve added to the fleet [at the time of writing], and we’re very happy to have more on the way. We’ve seen double-digits increases in customer satisfaction scores, and these fuel-efficient aircraft support our leadership in reducing carbon emissions. With 30 additional A220s on order, we’re in a position to accelerate our fleet modernisation plans to deliver stronger cost performance and support our focus city network strategy.”
Christian Scherer, Airbus chief commercial officer and head of Airbus International, added: “It is very rewarding to see a happy customer coming back for more aircraft not even a year after entry-into-service of its first A220. We salute our friends at JetBlue on this landmark deal. [More than] 700 A220 orders to date underscore the strong market appetite for this all-new single-aisle aircraft.”
With the Singapore Airshow currently ongoing (held between February 15-18), Airbus has already been busy after a pre-show announcement regarding Jazeera Airways’ firm A320neo Family order.
For more on what to expect, both Airbus and its major rival Boeing had previously revealed their plans ahead of the popular airshow.
