Gemini Jets 1:400 Airbus A220-100: Delta Airlines

The Airbus A220 is a family of narrow-body airliner designed by Bombardier Aerospace as the Bombardier CSeries. The smaller variant (CS100 now known as A220-100), seating 108 to 133, made its maiden flight on 16 September 2013, was awarded an initial type certification by Transport Canada on 18 December 2015, and entered service on 15 July 2016 with launch operator Swiss Global Air Lines. The longer variant (CS300 now known as A220-300), seating 130 to 160, first flew on 27 February 2015, received an initial type certification on 11 July 2016, and entered service with airBaltic on 14 December 2016.

In July 2018, the aircraft was rebranded as the A220 after Airbus acquired 50.01% of the program through a joint venture, which was later renamed Airbus Canada Limited Partnership. In August 2019, a second final assembly line opened at Airbus Mobile in Alabama, supplementing the main facility in Mirabel, Quebec. In February 2020, Airbus increased its share to 75% as Bombardier exited the program, while the Quebec government's Investissement Québec held the 25% balance.

Powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1500G geared turbofans, the twinjet has fly-by-wire flight controls, a carbon composite wing and an aluminium-lithium fuselage. Both launch operators, Swiss and airBaltic, recorded better-than-expected fuel burn and dispatch reliability, as well as positive feedback from passengers and crew. Following the aviation downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the A220 became more popular, due to its small size and high efficiency. Delta Air Lines is currently the largest operator with 50 airplanes in its fleet. As of July 2021, a total of 644 aircraft had been ordered of which 168 had been delivered. The A220 family complements the A319neo in the Airbus range and competes with the largest variants of the Embraer E-Jet E2 family and the smaller Boeing 737 MAX-7 variant.

There are two main variants: the shorter A220-100 including the ACJ TwoTwenty business jet version, and the 3.4 meter longer A220-300. Their commonality over 99% allows a common spare part inventory, reducing investment and maintenance costs.

Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along with its subsidiaries and regional affiliates, including Delta Connection, operates over 5,400 flights daily and serves 325 destinations in 52 countries on six continents. Delta is a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance.

Delta has nine hubs, with Atlanta being its largest in terms of total passengers and number of departures. It is ranked second among the world's largest airlines by number of scheduled passengers carried, revenue passenger-kilometers flown, and fleet size. It is ranked 69th on the Fortune 500.