JetBlue orders 30 more Airbus A220s, accelerates Embraer 190 retirements
Good news for JetBlue flyers looking for more flights on the crowd-pleasing Airbus A220.
The New York-based airline on Tuesday announced that it was exercising 30 purchase options for the A220-300. When all aircraft are delivered, which is expected by 2026, JetBlue will operate 100 of the jets – originally designed by Canadian manufacturer Bombardier before its commercial plane unit was acquired by Airbus. JetBlue currently operates eight A220s in its fleet.
The order announced Tuesday will allow JetBlue to accelerate the retirement of its Embraer 190 fleet. The last E190 is now scheduled to exit the fleet in 2026.
"We're already seeing benefits from the eight A220s we've added to the fleet, and we're very happy to have more on the way," JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes said in a statement. "We've seen double-digit increases in customer satisfaction scores, and these fuel-efficient aircraft support our leadership in reducing carbon emissions. With 30 additional A220s on order, we're in a position to accelerate our fleet modernization plans to deliver stronger cost performance and support our focus city network strategy."
JetBlue's A220 features an all-coach configuration, with 28 rows of seats in a 2-3 configuration — a total of 140 seats. Thirty of the seats are JetBlue's Even More Space extra legroom seats, with 35 inches of pitch. The other 110 seats are standard Core seats, with a generous 32 inches of pitch.
More: Take a look inside JetBlue's swanky new Airbus A220
As has been the case since JetBlue's launch, all seats feature personal televisions. On the A220, the screens are 10.1 inches. Free WiFi is available on the A220 fleet, as is standard on JetBlue. The A220 features high-speed ViaSat 2 receivers.
The A220 is primarily used out of JetBlue's base at Boston Logan Airport (BOS). This month, it operates primarily to the southeastern U.S, Florida and some mid-continent routes — including four cities in Texas. By this summer, JetBlue plans use the A220 on transcontinental routes, including on its first-ever service to Canada. Flights to Vancouver International (YVR) begin on June 9.
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