Air France receives final Airbus A220-300 from initial 2019 order

Air France has received its 60th Airbus A220-300 from an order initially placed in 2019 to gradually replace its A318 and A319 fleet.

On November 6, 2026, Air France said its 60th Airbus A220, registered F-HOZJ and named ‘Mimizan’, joined the fleet around five years after the first, registered F-HZUA and named ‘Le Bourget’, arrived on October 31, 2021.

The carrier’s latest aircraft will welcome its first customers for its first commercial flight in the coming days.

On July 30, 2019, Air France announced it had placed a firm order for 60 A220-300s, with 30 options and 30 acquisition rights to join its short- and medium-haul fleet.

Air France Airbus A220-300 F-HZUA (credit: Kevin Hackert / Shutterstock.com)

At the time, Benjamin Smith, CEO of the Air France-KLM Group, said that the A220-300 “demonstrates optimum environmental, operational, and economic efficiency”.

“The selection of the Airbus A220-300 supports our goal of a more sustainable operation, by significantly reducing CO2 and noise emissions,” Smith said. “This aircraft will also provide our customers with additional comfort on the short- and medium-haul network and will provide our pilots with a connected cockpit with access to the latest navigation technology.”

He added: “This is a very important next step in Air France’s transformation, and this evolution in Air France’s fleet underlines the Group’s determination to attain European airline leadership.”

Air France to welcome further A220s

In February 2026, Smith said the A220 would exclusively be used to fly the entire medium-haul mainline fleet at Air France, and he hoped to have between 90 and 95 units in place before the end of the decade.

In the carrier’s most recent statement in November 2026, the company said its 61st and all upcoming A220-300s will be fitted with Wi-Fi technology during their post-delivery work, and before their first commercial flight.

“In five years, the A220 has established itself as one of the pillars of Air France’s short- and medium-haul network,” Air France said in its statement. “Operating alone or alongside Airbus A320 family aircraft, it now serves 50 destinations, from Nice to Istanbul, and from Geneva to Brest. Nearly 24 million customers have already traveled aboard it, in a spacious, bright 148-seat cabin.”

According to Airbus, around 720 pilots and 1,800 cabin crew members have received specific A220 training. Additionally, 300 mechanics are certified and 460 ground staff are prepared to welcome the aircraft every day.

Ch-aviation data shows Air France is still actively operating three Airbus A318-100s and a single A319-100. All A318s were expected to be retired in November 2026, but Air France has extended this to March 2027.

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