QF A220 Arrivals
 

If you want to name a A220 then hers your chance:

https://www.travelweekly.com.au/arti...assembly-line/

Direct link to contest

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/promoti...ntas-a220.html

The Tassie Turbo Chook, for sure!

I've nothing useful to add on this but can I just say how excited I am that we've reached the point where a 'QF A220 Arrivals' thread isn't out of place!

:D

I believe the first A220 will be VH-X4A

From todays QF announcement

"The Qantas Group is on track to receive the first two QantasLink A220 aircraft by the end of this calendar year; subsequent deliveries are expected to be delayed by up to four months as a result of supply chain disruption."

Two this year and wait until P&W sort out their engine problems.

The Good, Bad, & Ugly: The Global Airbus A220 Fleet Amid PW Engine Woes

https://simpleflying.com/global-airb...atus-may-2023/

From another forum the first five QANTAS A220-300 registrations will be VH-4XA, 4XB, 4XC, 4XD, 4XE.

Have any delivery dates been released for the first 2 x A220-300's?

Should be X4A, X4B, etc

The first A220-300 (MSN 55253) was scheduled to be delivered in November this year but is still in production and hasn't made an appearance out of the factory in Montreal. From roll out to delivery can take up to three months or longer, so it looks as though it will not be delivered until early 2024.

Six are due for delivery by the end of 2024.

Based on the MSN's under test. QF's A220 should be rolled out to commence flight test in the near future.

Also the first QF A220 may be delivered by the end of November but not in service.

Does the A220 appear on any forward booking systems yet ?

I haven't come across it in the booking system or online timetable. I believe the in service date is 'early 2024' so you're no doubt correct re delivery late November or early December with famil/training and possibly a PR tour to follow.

MSN is 55236, line number is 55253, it’s interesting how all the production lists have the msn as the line number

First Qantas A220 due for delivery within weeks

https://www.executivetraveller.com/n...first-delivery

That is the same reused article that was written back in 2022, with just a new heading and a couple of extra words in there.

Yep, and let’s not mention the issues facing most A220 operators with the engines

QantasLink first A220, VH-X4A will wear a new flyingart livery as shown below.
Artwork named Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa

https://www.executivetraveller.com/n...ing-art-livery

A very nice livery. The first time that I can recall that the tail has been in any other colour than red. The other special liveries have left most of the tail red with the white kangaroo.

"Green" is the story they will be pushing

From Scramble

Qantas unveils special livery for 1st A220

Qantas has decided to mark the moment of the introduction of the Airbus A220 with a special livery. Its first A220-300, currently registered C-FPGP (55253), is almost ready for delivery and will become VH-X4A. The green livery is designed by Balarinji and is part of the Flying Art-series of the Qantas that started with the "Wunala Dreaming" Boeing B747-400.

In total, Qantas has ordered 29 A220-300s which the airline will use to replace its thirteen Boeing B717s and eighteen Fokker 100s. They will be operated under the QantasLink-brand and operated by fully-owned subsidiary National Jet Systems. The A220 will feature 137 seats, ten business class and the rest economy seats.

QantasLink will use the type to connect smaller Australian cities with the large Qantas-bases at Melbourne and Sydney. The first commercial service will be between Melbourne and Canberra and is set to launch in January 2024.

From QF

FIRST QANTASLINK A220 ROLLS OUT OF PAINTSHOP AS FLEET RENEWAL RAMPS UP
Mirabel, Canada | Published on 15th November 2023 at 6:00


QantasLink’s first brand new Airbus A220 aircraft has rolled out of the paintshop at Airbus’ facility in Mirabel, Canada, marking a significant milestone in the Qantas Group’s fleet renewal program.

The aircraft, which is set to arrive in Australia before the end of the year, is the first of 29 A220s that will be delivered to the Group as part of its domestic fleet renewal program to replace and grow its narrowbody fleet.

The next-generation QantasLink A220s will gradually replace the Boeing 717s currently operating flights across Australia. With double the range of the 717, the A220 is expected to open up new domestic and short-haul international routes as more aircraft
enter the fleet.

This will be the twelfth new aircraft delivered to the Group in the past 12 months, including eight Airbus A321LR aircraft for Jetstar and three Boeing 787 Dreamliners for Qantas International. More deliveries of multiple aircraft types are expected in the next 12 months, including the first Airbus A321XLR for Qantas Domestic. All burn significantly less fuel, generate fewer emissions and are quieter than the older aircraft they replace.

Over the past six months, this first QantasLink A220 aircraft has come together at the Mirabel facility, with key components produced in other facilities around the world, including wings from the United Kingdom.

The aircraft spent two weeks in the paintshop where a striking Aboriginal paint scheme was applied, making this aircraft the sixth to join the national carrier’s longstanding Flying Art Series.
The Qantas Flying Art Series was launched in 1994 with the unveiling of the first Indigenous livery aircraft, a Boeing 747 jumbo jet named Wunala Dreaming. Leading Indigenous Australian design agency, Balarinji, has worked with Qantas to create the fuselage design for all of the Flying Art Series liveries, in collaboration with First Nations artists and their families.
The latest Flying Art Series livery features the artwork of senior Pitjantjatjara artist Maringka Baker and tells the Dreaming story of two sisters who traverse remote Australia together, covering vast distances to find their way home. The aircraft is named after the artwork Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa – The Two Sisters Creation Story.

Around 100 painters were involved in completing the livery, with the Airbus teams working with 130 stencils to replicate the detailed designs. It features over 20,000 dots and is the most complex livery Airbus has ever completed for this aircraft type.
Qantas Group CEO, Vanessa Hudson, said the QantasLink A220s would be a game changer for domestic and regional travel.

https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/me...ewal-ramps-up/

The a/c is named after the artist(s) Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa and is painted in QF red on the nose

A220-300 VH-X4A has had engine runs and taxi checks at YMX on 22/11 and 24/11/23.

A220-300 VH-X4A has had further taxi checks and a rejected take off at YMX on 29/11/23. Hopefully, its first flight is imminent.

A220-300 VH-X4A is currently conducting its first flight from YMX, 30/11/23 as ABK353/C-FPGP.

First flight completed with 02:32 flying as C-FPGP

A220-300 VH-X4A has just completed its second flight from YMX, on 1/12/23 as ABK353/C-FPGP. Total flight time was 2 hours 16 minutes which is over 5 hours of flight testing in two days.

Images of first flight

https://twitter.com/Qantas/status/1730400768539385894

A220-300 VH-X4A has now completed its third flight of 1 hour 7 minutes from YMX, on 5/12/23 as ABK353/C-FPGP.

A220-300 VH-X4A has now completed its fourth flight of 3 hour 49 minutes from YMX, on 10/12/23 as ABK353/C-FPGP.

A220-300 VH-X4A has completed its fourth flight of 2 hours 32 minutes from YMX, on 10/12/23 as ABK353/C-FPGP. Total flight time is now 8 hours 46 minutes.

X4A was added to the CASA registry on 12th December in preparation for delivery.

thanks Ben


VH-X4A
Updated 13 December 2023
Aircraft manufacturer:
AIRBUS CANADA LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
Aircraft model:
BD-500-1A11
Registration holder:
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED
10 Bourke Rd
MASCOT NSW 2020
Australia
Registered operator:
NATIONAL JET SYSTEMS PTY LTD
A QANTAS Group Airline PO Box 99
Export Park South Australia 5950
Australia
Serial:
55253
Registration type:
Full Registration
Date first registered:
12 December 2023
Registration holder commencement date:
12 December 2023
Registered operator commencement date:
12 December 2023
Country of manufacture:
Canada
Year of manufacture:
2023
Maximum takeoff weight:
70896.00
Engine manufacturer:
PRATT & WHITNEY
Engine type:
Turbofan
Number of engines:
2
Engine model:
PW1524G-3
Airframe:
Power Driven Aeroplane
Propellor model:
NOT APPLICABLE
Propellor manufacturer:
AIRCRAFT NOT FITTED WITH PROPELLER
Fuel type:
Kerosene

Mark you had better get onto CASA they are using the WRONG serial number.

Someone at NJS would have entered that serial number in.

Out of interest, I checked the last dozen or so deliveries to USA based airlines (Delta, Breeze, Jet Blue). The serial numbers from the FAA all correlate to the online production lists.

I've also checked several others and can't see any other A220 with a serial number that doesn't match the various online sources. The one I tried to check but couldn't was, ironically, 55236 which should be LZ-LON at Bulgaria Air.

I'm also not convinced that Bombardier, let alone Airbus, would have line numbers which so closely resemble MSNs, given the two usually have very different numerical sequences.

As Brenden says, someone at NJS/Qantas would have entered that number and I'd add that it will need to ultimately match the aircraft's placard and papers.

Maybe they are taking line numbers as MSNs in this case, seems to be what’s happening, interesting.

CH aviation noted in their database update:

“ Aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing utilise both MSN and Line Number for aircraft serial numbers, while Airbus solely uses Construction Number (C/N). In our database, we showcased a blank value wherever we had a case of the OEM using only C/N. This is why we decided to duplicate the C/N into the MSN column for OEMs that do not use MSN to ensure our data is consistent with industry standards.”

Looks like the first 5 will be -300series

Attachment 2279

Here she comes
 

Arrival into SYD is scheduled for 1200 Wednesday 20th from NAN, subject to change obviously.

Airbus PR

https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/p...its-first-a220