QF A220 Arrivals

[Greg Hyde]

From QF Facebook

The first QantasLink Airbus A220 commercial flights took to the skies today, operated by two brand new jets straight from the Airbus factory in Mirabel, Canada.
VH-X4B, named ‘Koala’, operated the inaugural service QF1266 from Melbourne to Canberra, carrying passengers and aviation enthusiasts on the historic flight.

VH-X4A, named ‘Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa’ with its striking Indigenous livery, made its commercial passenger debut shortly afterwards as QF1268.

As part of our fleet renewal program, the A220s will progressively replace our retiring Boeing 717s, with the third A220 due to arrive in Australia in June and a further four to be delivered by mid-2025.

https://www.facebook.com/Qantas

[Zac M]

Amazing to fly on, very comfortable in both classes!

[Greg Hyde]

From CASA

A220s enter service

Ever wonder how we certify a new type of airliner for operations in Australia?
The introduction this month of a new aircraft type, the Airbus A220-300, is the culmination of a 12-month project involving a CASA team with expertise in areas ranging from flight operations and cabin safety to ground operations.

The A220 aircraft, which will be operated by National Jet Systems (NJS) using the Qantas brand and will replace the airline’s Boeing B717 fleet, are part of an order of 29 aircraft from Airbus Canada.

National Jet is the first Australian airline to operate this first of type, first of model aircraft, with 2 of the aircraft – VH-X4A (painted in the green livery Minyma Kutjari Tjukurpa) and VH-X4B – to operate from the Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane ports.
The project started a year ago when a pre-application was received by NJS.
CASA flight operations inspectors travelled to Montreal, Canada, for type rating training at the CAE simulator centre to gain a greater technical understanding of the aircraft.

A cabin safety expert also undertook training in Zurich, Switzerland, on emergency procedures and passenger handling.

The assessment process included reviewing documentation covering the manual suite, inspections, testing, and certification for the Air Operator’s Certificate, Civil Aviation Safety Regulation (CASR) Part 42 (continuing airworthiness) and CASR Part 145 (maintenance facility).

There were also practical assessments covering an evacuation demonstration and proving flights.

The evacuation demonstration was conducted in a hangar at Canberra airport with 9 CASA and 30 Qantas staff involved.

A simulated rejected take-off, which required the exit doors to be opened within 10 seconds, helped ensure procedures were within certification requirements.
Proving flights took place over 2 days. A return flight from Melbourne to Brisbane tested both cockpit and ground scenarios, including a simulated fire in a toilet, a scenario of preparing the cabin for a water ditching and night landing.

The second flight from Melbourne to Sydney was diverted to Canberra airport before flying back to Melbourne.

[MarkR]

There is some industrial action at the Airbus plant with a go slow, wonder if it will pushback deliveries.

[James Smith]

With the third A220 due to be delivered in June, does anyone have a list of the MSNs for any future A220s for QLINK?

There are a couple of aircraft on the Airbus Family A220 Aircraft List on Aviation Flights showing under Airline as "Unknown." C-GPSN, MSN 55271 is one but has had three test flights already, so it would be too early and not too far away from delivery. The other is C-GPNO, MSN 55273 which looks to be still in production. Could this A220 be the future VH-X4C?

Did QANTAS not release the MSNs much before production was completed for the first two A220s? I recall the discussion about the MSN and Line Numbers being the same on the A220.

[Rowan McKeever]

I think only the MSN for X4A came out through Qantas' socials, I don't recall seeing anything from them with the MSN for X4B.

FWIW 55271 has been noted on another forum as being a B6 aircraft.