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Breeze Airways took delivery of its third Airbus A220-300 on Friday. However, the delivery of this aircraft was a little less straightforward than most. The aircraft’s first attempt at reaching its new home had to be canceled, with a diversion back to Mobile, Alabama. Fortunately, the second attempt was a success.
1st attempt failure
Severe weather at and en route to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) meant that Breeze’s third Airbus A220-300 had to divert back to its origin of Mobile, Alabama (BFM). The US-assembled jet, registered N206BZ, departed Mobile at 09:22 local time, destined for its new home in Florida. However, just after flying over Tallahassee, unstable weather reported at FLL led to the aircraft being put in a holding pattern for about 30 minutes as the crew determined the next course of action. After circling twice off the coast of Florida, the aircraft returned to Mobile, touching down at 12:04 local time.
Indeed, examining data from FlightRadar24.com, Breeze’s new A220 was far from the only aircraft affected by severe weather across Florida. Arrivals and departure data for Fort Lauderdale airport show that the majority of flights were delayed in landing or taking off, with a handful of services also being canceled.
2nd attempt success
After touching down back in Mobile at 12:04 local time, it appears that the crew was confident in making a second attempt very soon after. Indeed, the jet spent very little time on the ground, having taken off at 12:36- a mere 32 minutes after touching down.
The second attempt was, thankfully, a success, with the aircraft completing a one-hour and 34-minute flight from Mobile to Fort Lauderdale. The jet touched down at its Florida destination at 15:10- two minutes after a Southwest Airlines 737 from Raleigh-Durham and two minutes before a Delta Air Lines 757-200 from Atlanta.
The brand new aircraft had to divert back to Alabama due to severe weather. Photo: FlightRadar24.com
Breeze’s small A220 fleet
While Breeze Airways’ fleet is dominated by the Embraer E190, it’s no secret that the Airbus A220-300 is the type that will eventually be the backbone of the airline’s operations.
The airline has a whopping 80 of the narrowbody jets on order. Initially, the carrier had placed an order for 60 A220-300s. However, in September of 2021, the carrier boosted its commitment with an additional 20 jets.
Configured with 36 seats in business class and 90 in economy, Breeze Airways now has three A220s. The first two, registered N203BZ and N204BZ, arrived in December 2021 and March 2022, respectively. Interestingly, Breeze wasn’t able to register its third jet as N205BZ, as you’d expect with its sequential registration numbers. That particular tail number already belongs to a four-seat, single-piston Mooney M-20.
Although the airline now has three A220s, passenger operations have yet to begin. Breeze is expected to begin Airbus A220-flights in May.
Are you excited to see these jets enter service? Let us know by leaving a comment!
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