Czech Airlines
A220 offers fuel efficiency and wide-body passenger comfort. Credit: Airbus.

National airline operator Czech Airlines has placed an order for four Airbus A220-300 aircraft and upsized the previous order for A320neo to A321XLR.

The A220-300 will have 149 seats while the 195-seater A321XLR will comprise two-class layout.

Once delivered, the two aircraft variants will complement the airline’s existing Airbus fleet of six A319 and one A330-300.

Czech Airlines board chairman Petr Kudela said: “The A220 and A321XLR fit well with our long-term business strategy in terms of network expansion.

“These aircraft will definitely give Czech Airlines a competitive advantage and will increase the capacity of our regular flights.

“I believe that this step will be appreciated by our passengers as the aircraft offer best in class comfort, even during long-haul flights, thanks to a brand new cabin configuration.”

Claimed to be the only purpose-built aircraft in the 100-150 seat market, Airbus A220 family is powered by Pratt & Whitney’s latest-generation PW1500G geared turbofan engines. The aircraft also features an advanced aerodynamics technology with a minimum of 20% lower fuel burn per seat as against the previous generation aircraft.

The A220 offers fuel efficiency and wide-body passenger comfort in a single-aisle aircraft.

At the end of September 2019, Airbus had an order book for A220 comprising more than 525 aircraft.

The A321XLR is an upgrade of the A321LR in response to the demands for increased range and payload.

Airbus chief commercial officer Christian Scherer said: “The A220 has proved to be a strong performer in Europe with its high daily utilisation being a testament to its versatility.

“The A321XLR has the longest range of our A320 Family. Passengers can now fly further without compromising on comfort whilst Czech Airlines benefits from remarkably lower fuel consumption as it expands its network.”

From 2023, Airbus will offer Xtra Long Range of up to 4,700nm, along with 30% lower fuel burn a seat compared to earlier-generation aircraft.

Until now, Airbus recorded more than 6,650 orders from almost 110 customers for the A320neo family.