The direct order from Air Niugini for up to nine Airbus A220s is a welcome one for Airbus, especially for the A220-100. The smallest type in the Airbus family hasn’t sold well in the past two years. Actually, Air Niugini’s order for six is more than the combined five net sales for 2021 and 2022.
In the Airbus orders list for 2023, the A220-100 has been absent altogether. It shows a total of 95 aircraft on order, including the ACJ TwoTwenty, of which 56 had been delivered until the end of September. The only A220 orders this year have been for 33 -300s, with Delta ordering twelve in January and another twelve in June, plus nine confirmed in June by Qantas.
Active as a journalist since 1987, with a background in newspapers, magazines, and a regional news station, Richard has been covering commercial aviation on a freelance basis since late 2016.
Richard is contributing to AirInsight since December 2018. He also writes for Airliner World, Aviation News, Piloot & Vliegtuig, and Luchtvaartnieuws Magazine. Twitter: @rschuur_aero.
