Third A220 Delivered to Iraqi Airways

Baghdad-based Iraqi Airways (IA) has taken delivery of its third Airbus A220-300.

The Pratt & Whitney PW1500G-powered example, registration YI-ARG was formally delivered to the carrier on December 30.

It then left the Airbus Canada manufacturing base at Montréal–Mirabel International Airport (YMX) on January 12, routing via Oslo before arriving at Baghdad International Airport (BGW) on January 14.

Original Order

IA has five of the type on order. Its first example arrived in November 2021 (YI-ARE), followed by a second airframe (YI-ARF) which joined the fleet a month later.

The airline initially signed a deal for 16 examples in December 2013, when the aircraft was still known as the Bombardier CS300. The agreement included a firm order for five CS300s worth US$387 million at list prices, plus options on a further 11.

Speaking at the time, IA boss Captain Saad Al-Khafaji said, “Following the successful utilization of our six CRJ900 NextGen aircraft over the past few years, the acquisition of the CS300 aircraft will complement our network operations and allow us to expand into new markets.”