Green Africa Airways, a new Nigerian airline, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus for the purchase of 50 A220-300 aircraft.

When finalized, it will be one of the major orders to be placed globally for the A220 programme and the largest ever from the African continent.

The unique characteristics of the A220 will allow the airline to unlock destinations and route pairs that previously would have been considered non-viable.

The Lagos-based start-up airline had in 2018, announced plans to buy 100 Boeing 737 MAX which is now grounded. It's not yet clear what the fate of the MAX order is.

The A220 is the only aircraft purpose-built for the 100-150 seat market. It delivers unbeatable fuel efficiency and widebody passenger comfort in a single-aisle aircraft

The aircraft features state-of-the-art aerodynamics, advanced materials and Pratt & Whitney’s latest-generation PW1500G geared turbofan engines to offer at least 20 percent lower fuel burn per seat compared to previous-generation aircraft.

The A220 offers the performance of larger single-aisle aircraft. At the end of January 2020, the A220 had accumulated 658 orders.