Looking to travel between Melbourne and Canberra, or Melbourne and Brisbane soon? You might be flying on QantasLinks’ newest plane, the Airbus A220-300 which entered service today.
The first two planes to enter service today will be based out of Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport, and initially fly routes between Melbourne and Canberra, and Melbourne and Brisbane.
29 new A220-300s have been ordered in total, as part of QantasLinks’ fleet renewal program. The first two are now in service, and a third is due to arrive in June. Another four are set to arrive by mid-next year.
Once the additional A220s arrive, new routes for the aircraft will include:
Melbourne to Hobart (from July)
Melbourne to Coffs Harbour (from October)
Melbourne to Launceston (from November)
The A220s offer in-flight Wi-Fi (international Wi-Fi is coming soon for Qantas) with larger windows making it feel like a more spacious cabin. There are 10 business class seats in a 2-2 arrangement, and 127 economy seats in a 2-3 configuration.
Business class seats include:
37” seat pitch and a 5” recline compared to 30” seat pitch and 18” seat width for economy
Wireless charging pad, as well as dual USB A & C charging ports
6-way adjustable headrest, calf rest and footrest
Bottle holder
In arm tray table with a built-in tablet holder
Extendable cocktail table
Leather covers instead of the woven fabric covers in economy
The aircraft burn less fuel and generate fewer emissions than their predecessors - the Boeing 717 - which are being phased out as part of this fleet renewal program. They can fly almost double the range, at 7000km.