MIAMI — Montréal-based carrier, Air Canada, has formally announced the cabin specification and first routes for its upcoming Airbus A220-300 aircraft.
Although it’s not the first airline in North America to operate the Airbus A220—as Delta Air Lines became the launch operator in the USA with the A220-100—Air Canada will be the inaugural operator of the larger variant of the type, the A220-300
The aircraft is expected to launch on the newly established Montreal (YUL)-Seattle (SEA) link, timetabled to begin on May 4, 2020.
The service has been scheduled to connect into Air Canada’s long-haul network at YUL, including flights from Casablanca, Nice, Lyon, Paris, Frankfurt, London, Geneva, Rome, and Dublin.
On the way back from SEA, it will connect to flights across Europe and Northern Africa.
“With the only non-stop service between the two cities, Air Canada is strengthening its position in the Seattle market and providing yet another key link for business and leisure travelers alike,” said Mark Galardo, Vice President of Network Planning at Air Canada.
| Flight Number | Departs | Arrives | Operates |
| AC 565 | Montreal 1755 | Seattle 2045 | Daily |
| AC 564 | Seattle 0835 | Montreal 1634 | Daily |
“Our customers will benefit from innovative design features in a spacious and comfortable cabin. When connecting through Montreal or other hubs across Canada onward to international destinations, passengers traveling on an A220 will now have a seamless narrowbody-to-widebody aircraft cabin experience all along their journey,” Galardo added.
“The A220 will allow us to further develop our North American network, offering customers new routes and more robust year-round schedules,” Galardo concluded.
The A220 will also be used to link Air Canada’s Toronto-Pearson (YYZ) hub with San Jose (SJC), also timetabled to begin on the same day as the new Montreal-Seattle link.
Air Canada Express has had a regular service connecting Vancouver and San Jose, however, the new year-round link will be a first for both cities.
Likewise, the link between the two cities is timetabled to connect with the long haul network from the Toronto base.
| Flight | Departs | Arrives | Operates |
| AC 765 | Toronto 0855 | San Jose 1128 | Daily |
| AC 766 | San Jose 1215 | Toronto 2010 | Daily |
The revolutionary A220 will also be deployed on domestic routes from the operating bases at YUL and YYZ to cities such as Winnipeg, Ottawa, Calgary and across the border to New York.
Over time it is expected the A220 will open even more new markets across the United States of America and Canada.
Cabin Details
Air Canada will offer its customers 137 seats inside its brand-new planes, featuring 12 business class seats in a 2-2 configuration, as well as 125 seats in the economy section laid out in the typical 2-3 configuration that the A220 has to offer.
Each seat will have a myriad of features not usually seen on regional aircraft. The width of each seat will the best out of the entire Air Canada range of economy cabins.
Passengers will also have access to over 1,000 hours of entertainment in fifteen languages, thanks to the Panasonic ex1 inflight entertainment system.
Any passenger who finds itself caught short with power will be able to charge their devices on board with AC Power, USB-A and USB-C sockets installed at every seat.
Air Canada is clearly excited about the home-designed and built pocket rocket entering the fleet, bringing new destinations for Canadian travelers and revolutionizing the short-haul traveler experience.
It is a welcome refresh and upgrades for anyone traveling across North America and Canada.