Ibom Air Orders 10 Airbus A220 Aircraft

Nigeria's Ibom Air has placed a firm order for ten Airbus A220 aircraft. The order which is valued at $915 million at list price, was announced today at the Dubai Air Show.

The signing was done by Mfon Udom, the CEO of Ibom Air, and Christian Scherer, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Airbus International. Deliveries of the aircraft will commence in 2023.

The order of the Airbus A220 is in line with the airline’s aggressive growth plan, which will see it expand its footprint into new domestic routes as well as regional routes covering West and Central Africa in the immediate future.

It would appear that Ibom Air has fallen in love with the fuel-efficient Airbus A220 aircraft, having operated, in the last 6 months, two A220-300 which were wet leased from Egypt Air.

Formally known as the CSeries, the Airbus A220 was originally designed and manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace Company of Canada. In 2018, Airbus became the new owner of the program after acquiring 75% of its stake.

Depending on the variant and configuration, the Airbus A220 can carry between 100 and 150 passengers in two classes. It delivers 20% better fuel efficiency than previous generation competitor aircraft, and flies to a range of up to 3,400nm.

Ibom Air is one of Nigeria's fastest growing and best airlines. It currently operates a young fleet of 5 CRJ-900s and 2 A220-300s to 6 domestic destinations including Lagos, Abuja, Uyo, Calabar, Enugu, and Port Harcourt.