Air Canada (AC, Montréal Trudeau) took delivery of its first A220-300, C-GROV (msn 55067), becoming the first North American operator of the type.
The aircraft was handed over at Airbus Canada's facility at Montréal Mirabel on December 20, 2019, Airbus said in a press release. The first of forty-five A220-300s ordered by Air Canada, C-GROV will enter revenue service in January 2020.
According to the ch-aviation schedules module, Air Canada plans to initially base the new aircraft out of Montréal Trudeau, deploying it to Calgary (from January 16) and Toronto Pearson (from January 19). The entry into service has been substantially accelerated compared to the original schedule, which foresaw a May 2020 debut.
Air Canada will use the A220s to replace its fourteen mainline E190ARs initially and then for growth. Overall, it expects a total of 15 to be in service by the end of 2020 with the entire order to be fulfilled by 2022.
