Airbus has reported that the A220 Family aircraft, the newest addition to its single-aisle portfolio, will now be offering increased range starting from H2 2020.
The A220 aircraft maximum take-off weight (MTOW*) is now confirmed to increase by 2,268 kg (2.3 metric tonnes). The new MTOW will increase the respective maximum range capabilities to 3,350 nm for the A220-300 and 3,400 nm for the A220-100, some 450 nm more than currently advertised.
This performance increase is achieved by taking credit of existing structural and systems margins as well as existing fuel volume capacity. This will allow airlines to tap into new routes that were not possible before, connecting key cities in Western Europe with the Middle East or from Southeast Asia to Australia.
The A220 has been purpose built for efficiency. It brings together state-of-the-art aerodynamics, advanced materials and Pratt & Whitney's latest-generation PW1500G geared turbofan engines to offer at least 20% lower fuel burn per seat compared to previous generation aircraft.
*The current basic MTOW is at 60.8 t for the A220-100 and 67.6 t for the A220-300. With the new MTOW increase of 2.3 t, the respective aircraft's MTOW will be brought up at 63.1 t for the A220-100 and 69.9 for the A220-300.
