Air Niugini gives Airbus its first A220-100 order since last year

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.

The last A220-100 order is from January 2022, when lessor Azorra ordered two. Two private customers bought an ACJ in May and June, but including three cancelations, that made only one net order in 2022. The last delivery was in October of that year to Comlux, one of six deliveries in 2022.