The Airbus A220 continues its successful breakthrough in Africa
Since Airbus took over Bombardier's CSeries programme, the European aircraft manufacturer has made the A220 a change-maker in the medium-haul single-aisle segment. In Africa, the aircraft has made quite a splash since its first entry in 2018 with Air Tanzania. To date, nearly 20 aircraft are active on the continent. Other operators include EgyptAir, Air Senegal, Air Austral and Ibom Air in Nigeria.
Geert Lemaire, Director of Market Intelligence and Consultancy at Airbus, met on 8 May in Nairobi on the sidelines of the 10th Aviation Stakeholders' Convention of the Airline Association (AFRAA) and confirmed the growing interest of the continent's carriers in the entry-level aircraft of the Airbus family.
"Other operators have already shown interest in the aircraft type and Airbus expects to see both the customer base and the number of aircraft based in Africa grow further in the future," reveals Geert Lemaire.
He bases his optimism on the predicted return of growth and the induced effects of liberalisation with the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Single Market for Air Transport in Africa (SMAA). "These initiatives will increase trade between African countries, opening up new opportunities for the movement of goods, services and people [...] This will result in more business traffic, more VFR (Visit of Friends and Relatives) traffic and increased tourism.
Traffic to/from/within Africa is expected to return to 2019 levels by the end of 2023. The trend is set to grow at an average of more than 4% per year until 2040, the European aircraft manufacturer estimates. Inter-regional demand is expected to be stronger within and between the four geographical zones (North, South, East, West) of the continent. When considering the flight times between these zones, we generally end up with times of about 6 hours. Where African airlines often line up larger single-aisle aircraft on certain routes, the flexibility of the A220 appears to be a real asset, especially at a time of fluctuating load factors caused by the impact of the health crisis. "Its relatively smaller capacity allows for better load factors and therefore better profitability.
With a range of 3125 NM and 3000 NM respectively, the -300 (141 seats) and -100 (116 seats) can serve flights of up to 7 hours and beyond. From Lagos, Nigeria, for example, they can easily connect all African capitals and key European destinations. "It is a versatile aircraft, easily integrated into existing fleets and operable on all kinds of routes (short, medium, long) in existing networks. Its bulky baggage racks are well suited to the habits of African travellers.
In its Global Market Forecast (GMF), Airbus predicts that Africa-based carriers will need about 1,100 new aircraft by 2040. 30% of these aircraft will be used to replace aircraft currently in service, while 70% will be used for growth. Of these 1,100 new aircraft, it is estimated that 860 will be small aircraft (with a capacity of between 100 and 210 seats) and the A220 falls into this category.
The A220-330 is currently the main version in service in Africa. However, Geert Lemaire sees potential for the smaller version. "With its 116 seats, the A220-100 can serve as a market opener, while the A220-300 (141 seats) is positioned as a growth consolidator. Both aircraft have the dual advantage of allowing operators to increase daily and weekly frequencies while avoiding inflating capacity in the market.
Proven during the health crisis, the A220 has continued to demonstrate its flexibility. "All African and foreign operators who already had the A220 in their fleet continued to use it while older generation aircraft were grounded. Nearly 100% of the world's delivered A220 fleet remained in service during the darkest days of the pandemic [...] It was used to replace other aircraft types on short and long routes, even when travel demand was low.
In the era of global aviation carbonisation targets, African carriers also see the aircraft as a major lever for improving environmental performance. Equipped with Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engines, which require less maintenance, the A220 is 20% more fuel efficient than its predecessors, emitting 20% less CO2 while reducing noise by 34%. This is a criterion that should be of great importance to African airlines, several of which are currently engaged in ambitious fleet modernisation plans.
