The last frontier of transatlantic flights: from Europe to the US with the mini-Airbus, the A220
Atlantic, the final frontier. After Airbus A321LRs and Boeing 737 MAXs, summer 2024 could see Airbus A220s flying [...]
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Atlantic, final frontier. After Airbus A321LRs and Boeing 737 MAXs, Summer 2024 could see Airbus A220s flying between North America and Europe. It would be, in that case, the smallest commercial airplane to bypass the ocean.
The American company Breeze Airways (founded in 2021 by David Neeleman, who was also previously the founder of JetBlue and Brazil's Azul) has in fact officially requested the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) The authorization to operate seasonal flights to the Caribbean and Ireland. Its fleet consists only of ERJ-195s and A22′, with the latter evidently intended to take over future long-haul routes. To Ireland, in particular, the origin cities of flights could likely be New York, Boston and Hartford (in Connecticut), all places in which large communities of Irish descent live.
The A220's flight range also suggests that cities connected to Ireland cannot be that much further south or that much further west than New England and the Big Apple. In fact, the A220-300 has a maximum range of just over 6,000 kilometers, with Boston and New York being 4,800 and 5,100 kilometers from Dublin, respectively. Flight times would be between 6 hours and 30 minutes and 7 hours from Europe to the U.S. and between 5 1/2 hours and 6 hours in the other direction (winds permitting).
All in a booth, that of the A220, whose diameter is 25 centimeters narrower than that of the Boeing 737 MAX and 40 centimeters narrower than that of the A321. It should be mentioned, however, that while the other two aircraft have, in economy, six seats per row (3+3), A220 has five per row (2+3). And that the large portholes of the 'baby Airbus' contribute brightness and 'breath' to the cabin.
In short, in some ways, the case for spending six to seven hours in such a cabin might seem better than making the same trip on a wide-body plane but with lots of seats per row. On the other hand, it is clear that such a small size of the cabin could induce a certain Claustrophobia in those who suffer from confined spaces.
Pioneering travel beyond six hours with the A220 is the Latvian Air Baltic, which for years connects its main hub in Riga with Dubai: a journey that, according to Flightradar24, takes 6 hours to 6 hours and 20 minutes in the direction of Emirates and between 6 hours and 30 minutes and 6 hours and 50 minutes to the Baltic. Latvia's A220s are single-cabin, with the seats in rows B and E being left empty in the part of the cabin used for business class. But, front row and emergency exit aside, The distance between seats is the same throughout the plane: 32 inches (81 centimeters). So is the width of the seat: 18.5 inches (47 centimeters).
Breeze Airways, on the other hand, on its A220-300 Has a real premium cabin called 'Breeze Ascent', which has 4 seats per row (2+2), with A row spacing of 39 inches (99 centimeters) and a seat width of 20.5 inches (52 centimeters). There are two configurations: one with 137 seats (12 in 'Ascent' and 125 in Economy) and one with 126 seats (36 in 'Ascent' and 90 in Economy), with the latter as the likely candidate for intercontinental flights.
In 'Ascent' the seats are simple recliners, not lie-flat. But also Icelandair, in its 'Saga Class,' does not have seats that turn into beds on the Boeing 767, 757 and 737 MAX aircraft that fly between Iceland and the United States. And between Iceland and Ireland 'dances' an hour flight or so.
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