On July 15th, 2016, the A220-100 performed its first revenue flight, shuttling passengers between Zürich and Paris on behalf of Swiss. Ten years later, the flag carrier of Switzerland is well underway to retire the model altogether. What happened?
From CS100 to A220-100
As many will recall, back when that historic flight took place, the aircraft wasn’t part of the Airbus extended family. Rather, it was an attempt by Bombardier to grab a slice of the tempting “mid-sized aircraft pie” that, back then, exclusively belonged to Airbus and Boeing. The Canadian manufacturer had identified an unaddressed sweet spot in the market — a modern jetliner that, size-wise, was larger than the CRJs of the world, while not swallowing quite as many passengers as an A320.
Years of development resulted in two aircraft — the CS100 and a slightly larger sister model, the CS300.
Airlines responded cautiously and perhaps a bit reservedly. No one expected them to behave differently. After all, investing in a brand-new fleet type is a delicate prospect, involving as much politics as it does purely financial considerations.
Eventually, Swiss (LX/SWR) put in an order for a total of 30 aircraft. They initially mulled an even 50/50 split between the two models. In the end, they opted to go for nine of the smaller CS100 (seating 125 passengers), while the rest of the firm order consisted of CS300s, capable of carrying 145 passengers.
Hindsight surely is 20/20. Today we know that the bold attempt to squeeze into a market featuring such heavy incumbents turned out to be too tall an order for Bombardier. In 2018, Airbus acquired a majority stake in the program, and the CS100 and CS300 were renamed the A220-100 and A220-300.
Their roots, however, remain visible for those who look carefully. To this day, their ICAO type designators remain BCS1 and BCS3, respectively. Which is what you’ll also see when you look for these aircraft here on Flightradar24.
Why is Swiss retiring the A220?
Short answer: it isn’t. Not entirely, at least.
Instead, it is consolidating its fleet around the larger A220-300. The airline says it expects to operate without the A220-100 in the medium and long term, with the remaining aircraft leaving service by the end of 2027.
While no official communication exists as to why that is, the continuing issues with the engines powering the aircraft model most likely play a key role in the decision.
Both A220 variants use Pratt & Whitney PW1500G geared turbofan engines. While offering some impressive characteristics (fuel economy is great and it sounds like a whale when taxiing), the engines have had their fair share of problems. Something multiple operators can and will attest to.
These issues have been further compounded by the lack of replacement engines and spare parts, forcing airlines to make difficult strategic decisions. Swiss is no exception. With multiple A220 aircraft being parked at any given time, the airline has simply decided that it is better to use parts from the smaller model to support operations using the larger one.
Some A220-100s are already being dismantled
Speaking of spare parts, some of Swiss’s A220-100s have already reached the end of the road.
Of the airline’s original nine A220-100s, two have been decommissioned and will be dismantled for parts. The aircraft in question are HB-JBC and HB-JBD, both of which are currently stored in Toulouse. Another four are currently in long-term storage. Only three remain in service at the time of writing.
If you think that this is quite a remarkable situation, you are absolutely right. Scrapping aircraft for parts is typically something that happens after a long period of faithful service, often involving multiple swaps of ownership. These aircraft, however, are only ten years old.
That speaks volumes about just how delicate the situation has become for operators of the A220 family.
How to track Swiss’s remaining A220-100s on Flightradar24
If you want to see what Swiss’s remaining A220-100s are up to before they disappear, look no further than Flightradar24.
The Swiss A220-100 fleet runs from HB-JBA through HB-JBI, and each aircraft has its own aircraft page on Flightradar24. Use the search function to find each aircraft, see their previous flights and what they are currently scheduled to operate in the coming days.
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