How will the fleet grow beyond 60 aircraft as the airline replaces its older jets?
Air France A220: Air France accepted its sixtieth Airbus A220-300 on November 6, 2026. Registered F-HOZJ and named Mimizan, the aircraft joins a fleet with further deliveries already planned.
Air France explicitly anticipates its sixty-first A220 and subsequent arrivals. The group’s published purchase commitments extend into 2028, while remaining A318s have flights scheduled into March 2027.
Air France’s updated announcement confirms that Mimizan carried its first passengers to Prague on November 9, 2026. That service entry followed the aircraft’s delivery three days earlier.
Air France A220 deliveries reach 60, with more to come
The original decision came on July 30, 2019. In its fleet announcement, Air France–KLM outlined an initial firm order for 60 A220-300s. The agreement also included 30 purchase options and 30 purchase rights, providing scope for further aircraft acquisitions.
Air France received its first A220 on September 29, 2021. The aircraft came from Airbus’s final assembly line in Mirabel, Québec, Canada. The airline presented it at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG).
Commercial flying began a month later. The Air France service-entry announcement records flights to Berlin and Venice on October 31, 2021. Delivery and the first passenger service were separate milestones.
That distinction still matters for new arrivals. Acceptance transfers an aircraft into the fleet; preparation for revenue service can include equipment installation and operational checks.
The industrial background runs through our Fliegerfaust coverage of the A220’s production and cabin developments. Air France’s growing fleet illustrates the airline investment behind the A220 manufacturing programme. The delivery counter has more work ahead.
Air France A220 commitments extend into 2028
Air France–KLM’s half-year financial statements listed 20 A220s under firm purchase commitments at June 30, 2026.
That schedule allocated five aircraft to the second half of 2026, ten to 2027 and five to 2028. The total describes the outstanding purchase commitments at midyear, including those late-2026 deliveries.
The accounts document deliveries extending beyond the first 60 aircraft. They provide no A220-specific breakdown of how many original options or purchase rights the airline exercised.
AeroTime’s November 9 report also revisits the broader ambition outlined by group chief executive Benjamin Smith in February 2026. He hoped to have 90–95 A220s by decade-end, serving Air France’s entire mainline medium-haul fleet.
That longer-term ambition reaches beyond the midyear delivery commitments. The next decisions concern how the airline completes the transition from its remaining older Airbus aircraft and builds the fleet Smith described.
Air France A220 renewal still has an A318 chapter
The Air France–KLM third-quarter results provide a useful dated fleet snapshot. At September 30, 2026, Air France had 58 A220s, four A318s, one A319 and 35 A320s.
Air Data News reported on November 8 that three A318s remained operational, with a fourth parked since October. Its report also identified one remaining A319. The replacement programme is therefore still visible in the aircraft serving the network.
Air France has identified the first quarter (Q1) of 2027 for its last A318’s departure. In a statement to Airliner World, the airline confirmed.
AeroRoutes’ August 17 schedule update provides the timetable detail. Planned A318 operations extend through March 27, 2027, replacing the previous November 8, 2026 endpoint. That remains a published schedule, subject to subsequent changes.
Air France fleet renewal runs beyond the original target
The 2021 service-entry announcement envisaged the first 60 A220s progressively replacing A318s, A319s and some A320s by the end of 2025. Older aircraft remain in the fleet in November 2026, putting that replacement phase beyond the original timetable.
The reason for successive A318 extensions remains less clear. Air Data News describes A220 availability difficulties, particularly involving engines. It also reports that Air France has not directly attributed those extensions to the engine issues.
For schedule planners, the practical measure is the capacity available to operate the programme. An accepted aircraft, a serviceable aircraft and a scheduled flight describe different stages of that calculation. Retirement timing depends on the operating plan the airline can actually support.
The A318 also represents a long chapter in the airline’s history. Airliner World dates its first delivery to October 9, 2003, and records an eventual fleet of 18. The smallest Airbus has proved unusually good at extending its stay.
Air France A220 economics started with a reported half-price deal
Air France secured a discount exceeding 50% against a €95 million catalogue price when it ordered its A220s in 2019, according to La Tribune’s November 9, 2026 report. The newspaper describes that discount as unofficial. It attributes the favourable pricing to Airbus’s push to strengthen sales after taking control of the former Bombardier CSeries programme.
Delivery availability reinforced the purchasing case. David Hoch, head of Air France’s A220 fleet, told the newspaper that A320-family delivery slots were full for several years. The A220 offered aircraft approximately two years after ordering, helping Air France begin replacing its ageing A318s and A319s sooner.
The purchase-price advantage now combines with operating savings. La Tribune reports fuel consumption 20–25% below older-generation A320s and costs per passenger-kilometre 10–15% below A318s and A319s. Hoch said the A220 had made marginal or loss-making routes profitable, prompting Air France to consider reopening previously closed routes.
La Tribune reports 24 further A220 deliveries by 2028, with a decision on 26 remaining options outstanding. It does not reconcile those figures with the group’s June purchase-commitment schedule. The newspaper also describes plans to base two A220s at Pointe-à-Pitre by 2028, replacing two A320s and extending the type’s role beyond Paris Charles de Gaulle.
Engine support has also improved, according to Hoch. Around ten A220s were grounded at the peak of the difficulties involving premature engine maintenance. Three remained stored at the time of the report. Hoch said engine reliability was now good and spare-parts availability had returned to normal.
Air France is also pressing Airbus for a larger A220, with Hoch confirming that additional passenger capacity matches the airline’s needs. La Tribune describes a potential 180–185-seat version, commonly referred to as the A220-500. Airbus had yet to decide on that development when the report appeared.
Air France A220 changes capacity and the cabin
The Air France A220 cabins have 148 installed seats. Air Data News lists 131 seats for the A318 and 142 or 143 for the A319.
Replacing an A318 therefore adds 17 installed seats, approximately 13%, calculated from those published layouts. The gain over an A319 is five or six seats. The aircraft substitution changes capacity by different amounts depending on which older model it replaces.
Those figures concern installed seats. Air France can reserve rows for Business passengers and leave adjacent seats empty, as its service-entry announcement explains. The saleable capacity consequently depends on the cabin allocation for each flight.
The Air France introduction announcement set out the commercial case in 2021. It estimated a 10% reduction in cost per seat against the A318 and A319. It also cited 20% lower fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions against aircraft replaced, alongside a 34% smaller noise footprint.
Passengers see a different set of advantages. Seats run five abreast in a three-plus-two arrangement, giving most travellers a window or aisle position. Air France specified 48-centimetre-wide seats. A middle seat is one aviation product few passengers ask to see expanded.
Air France A220 cabin upgrades continue after delivery
Connectivity has evolved since the aircraft’s introduction. In its September 8, 2025 announcement, Air France described the rollout of free high-speed internet using Starlink. Passengers access the service through a Flying Blue account.
By November 6, 2026, the airline said 85% of its A220s in service had the new system. It expects the remaining aircraft to receive upgrades by February 2027. New arrivals will receive the equipment before entering commercial service.
The earlier connectivity announcement had targeted fleet-wide coverage by the end of 2026. The newer A220 deadline therefore carries that portion of the installation programme into 2027.
AeroTime reports that the type now serves 50 destinations and has carried nearly 24 million customers. At that scale, the cabin and connectivity programme affects a substantial part of the airline’s European passenger experience.
The crews and workshops behind the fleet
Air France’s delivery update puts numbers on the workforce behind the aircraft: 720 trained pilots and 1,800 trained cabin crew. It also identifies 300 certified mechanics and 460 ground staff prepared to handle the type.
Those figures show the breadth of the investment beyond aircraft acquisition. A growing fleet needs recurrent training, maintenance competence and support at the stations it serves. Training rosters are less photogenic than new paint.
The engine-support infrastructure has also developed. On November 8, 2022, Pratt & Whitney announced an agreement with Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance. The Paris facility would provide disassembly, assembly and testing for the A220’s PW1500G engines.
On June 26, 2023, Pratt & Whitney confirmed the maintenance business had inducted its first geared turbofan engine. That milestone put a specific workshop capability behind the group’s growing aircraft investment.
The relationship between fleets, parts and training also features in our Fliegerfaust analysis of A220 fleet, component and training economics. Aircraft deliveries create continuing demand for those services throughout the fleet’s operating life.
Conclusion: Air France A220 growth continues beyond 60
Air France plans further A220 deliveries after Mimizan, while its remaining A318s approach their scheduled retirement. The airline’s ongoing investment in aircraft, crews and maintenance supports the next stage of fleet renewal.
Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) offers a different trajectory. SWISS received its thirtieth and final A220 on May 25, 2021. On November 3, 2026, chief financial officer Dennis Weber outlined an eventual exit from the family, as Watson reported. That announcement came five years and five months after the last delivery.
As our Fliegerfaust analysis of SWISS’s A220 retirement plans explains, the airline wants its short-haul fleet to converge on a different aircraft model.
The contrast shows how fleet priorities can evolve. Changing demand, operating costs and aircraft availability can reshape future choices. How those conditions develop over the next decade remains uncertain. Fleet strategies rarely come with permanent ink.
How will the Air France A220 strategy evolve as more aircraft arrive and its network requirements change?
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Sources
- Air France — Air France receives its 60th Airbus A220, “Mimizan,” five years after the aircraft’s first entry into the airline’s fleet (November 6, 2026).
- Air Data News — Air France completes fleet of 60 A220s but still flies the A318 (November 8, 2026).
- Air France–KLM / GlobeNewswire — Evolution of the Air France-KLM fleet (July 30, 2019).
- Airbus — Airbus delivers first of 60 A220s to Air France (September 29, 2021).
- Air France — Air France’s Airbus A220-300 enters commercial service and takes off to Berlin and Venice (October 31, 2021).
- Air France–KLM — Condensed consolidated interim financial statements, January–June 2026, Note 30 (July 30, 2026).
- AeroTime — Air France receives final Airbus A220-300 from initial 2019 order (November 9, 2026).
- Air France–KLM / GlobeNewswire — Air France-KLM Q3 2026 Results (November 5, 2026).
- Airliner World — Air France A318 retirement looms (August 24, 2026).
- AeroRoutes — Air France A318 NW26 Network – 16AUG26 (August 17, 2026).
- Air France — Air France unveils its first Airbus A220-300 (September 29, 2021).
- Air France — Complimentary high-speed wifi now available on board Air France flights (September 8, 2025).
- Pratt & Whitney — Pratt & Whitney Welcomes Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance to the GTF MRO Network (November 8, 2022).
- Pratt & Whitney — Pratt & Whitney and Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance Announce First GTF Engine Induction (June 26, 2023).
- SWISS — SWISS schliesst A220-Flottenerneuerung mit 30. Flugzeug ab (May 25, 2021).
- Watson / awp-SDA — Swiss sieht langfristig keine Perspektive für A220 in der Flotte (November 3, 2026).
- La Tribune — Airbus A220 : le pari gagnant d’un moyen-courrier ultra rentable pour Air France (November 9, 2026).
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