SWISS Axing The Airbus A220-100

SWISS has all but confirmed that the Airbus A220-100 will cease to play a role in the near term, with a decision to retire the smallest member of the regional programme.

The writing has been on the wall for some time; initially, it was just a temporary grounding, but this has now become a more planned phase-out, with the smallest A220 variant to bid farewell.

The Airbus A220-100s haven’t vanished because of the model’s performance alone; although that was only part of the reason, the drive to pull the jet from service some time ago was driven by the Pratt & Whitney GTF engine crisis.

SWISS pulled the plug on the A220-100 fleet during the height of the engine crisis, as it intended to use engines from the smaller model for redeployment on the larger A220-300. The Switzerland-based carrier did this to keep the A220-300 fleet flying, the more profitable and important model for day-to-day flying.

Even before the Pratt & Whitney engine crisis became a concern for SWISS, its A220-100s were underperforming, and the role was diminishing. However, when problems hit the broader family, it decided to take useful engines and components to keep the more profitable model flying that much easier.

When the A220-100s were put on the ground, their fate was also in limbo. The jets were still young compared to much older previous-generation jets. However, while SWISS left the door ajar for their possible return, the writing was on the wall for the smallest model in the family given its less favourable economics.

The A220-100s have been known for some time simply as reserves, which are more beneficial in their current state for parts and engines while the supply situation improves. Even though this was a temporary measure, the parking of the model now appears to be a permanent decision.

SWISS Plans To Axe The A220-100

SWISS has now confirmed to aero.de that while four A220-100s remain in its hands, three are already in storage, and these remaining aircraft will be decommissioned by the end of 2027 at the latest.

Two airframes, HB-JBC and HB-JBD, are currently in Toulouse, where they are being dismantled for parts recovery. Their role is the same as during the GTF crisis: extract key components to support the larger and more profitable A220-300 fleet deep into the future.

While the confirmation has now seemingly arrived, SWISS will move on without the A220-100; the fate had been, according to most, sealed some time ago. In previous months, warning signs had emerged, with vocabulary that was not indicative of management being supportive of the idea that the variant would return to service.

The A220-100, while being a modern aircraft, has found itself to be positioned awkwardly within the fleet makeup. The jet is smaller than the A220-300, and while SWISS knew that when committing to the type upon deployment, it has found it less useful on most routes where the seat count and better unit economics shine through.

As a consequence, while highly specialised to just specific airports, that has not been enough to justify retaining the aircraft for the long term. Rather than wait for every aircraft to become flyable again and the supply chain crisis to end, sacrificing one subfleet to secure the future of the other was the first indication of the jet’s fate.

SWISS is now planning to operate flights without the A220-100 in the medium to long term; the remaining four units will be decommissioned by the end of 2027 and then transferred to storage. For such young jets, alongside those already being scrapped, the fate is all but sealed.