Too Soon? 5 Year Old Airbus A220 Gets Scrapped

We knew this was coming, but we can't help but get a little emotional seeing images of the first dismantling of an Airbus A220. Indeed, for such a young aircraft and an overall relatively new type, to see scrapping so soon feels a little strange. Let's take a look at the scrapped airframe and why exactly the dismantling took place. So yes, images have begun to emerge on social media of the rather strange sight, the partially-dismantled Airbus A220-300 that is just over five years old. The aircraft in question bore the registration Sierra Uniform Gold Foxtrot Alpha during its service life. According to CH Aviation, after first flying on October 15th of 2019, it was delivered to Egypt Air just 11 days later, on October 26th. The reason for the aircraft being dismantled at such a young age is that there is apparently more value in its separate parts than as a whole functioning aircraft. That's at least according to aerospace firm Azura, the lesser to whom Egypt Air sold its 12 A220s for $300 million. As we reported in one of our long-haul videos in April of this year, Delta Material Services of Delta Air Lines will also play a role in making this parts-harvesting solution a reality. Ron Bauer, the president of Azura, explained that, "...we're big believers in the Airbus A220 and it remains a highly valuable and important asset to Azura. Parting out this used airframe and leasing its engine is a creative solution that will generate long-term opportunity for the A220 to continue to thrive." In case you didn't yet know the backstory to all of this, Egypt Air was an early adopter of the A220, purchasing it back in 2017 when it was still the Bombardier C-Series. Sadly, these jets spent far less time in the air than the Egyptian flag carrier would have anticipated, and not just due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020. The carrier faced issues with the A220's Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engines, which have proven to be problematic in hot and dusty environments such as Egypt and Iraq. Ultimately, the 12 A220 airframes were sold to Lesser Azura in February of 2024. Sierra Uniform Gold Foxtrot Alpha had already been stored at Cairo Airport for almost two years by that point. It was then flown stateside and re-registered as N560AZ. According to CH Aviation, this first scrapped A220 had racked up just 2,531 hours of flying across 2,434 cycles. Delta Material Services hopes that by harvesting the parts of this aircraft after dismantling, it will be able to resolve parts shortages currently keeping airframes on the ground. It has been reported that the company has already leased the jet's engines to Delta. Some of the other ex-EgyptAir Azura Airbus A220-300s are set to be parted out for Breeze Airways. But what do you think of a commercial A220 being retired and dismantled for the first time? Let us know by leaving a comment. Visit SimpleFlying.com