Airbus A220-100

Updated: October 2026 – A small jet taxis to the runway, the fuselage looks short and rounded, yet under the wings hang engines that would suit a bigger aircraft better: you may well be looking at an Airbus A220-100. It began life as the Bombardier CS100, is now an Airbus and is slowly becoming a rarity in Europe. Here you learn how to recognize it, how to tell it from the A220-300, E-Jets and A319 and where you can still find it in German-speaking countries.

What is the Airbus A220-100?

The A220-100 is the smaller model of the A220 family, a narrowbody jet for around 100 to 160 passengers. For the -100, Airbus cites a typical two-class seating of 100 to 120 seats and a maximum of 135 seats. The manufacturer gives the range as around 6,700 kilometers – considerably more than you would expect from such a compact aircraft.

The type was developed not in Toulouse but in Canada: Bombardier launched it as the C Series, and the small version was called the CS100. Its first flight took place on September 16, 2013 in Mirabel near Montreal. After Airbus took the majority stake in the program, the family was renamed in July 2018. The CS100 became the A220-100, the CS300 the A220-300. You will find more on today’s manufacturer on the page about Airbus.

Technically, the A220 is a design of its own with no relation to the A320 family. The fuselage has a diameter of 3.5 meters, and in the cabin five passengers sit per row in a two-plus-three arrangement. It is powered exclusively by Pratt & Whitney PW1500G, a geared turbofan in which a reduction gearbox lets the big fan turn more slowly than the turbine. Final assembly now takes place in Mirabel and in Mobile in the US.

The three features that are enough to identify it

The A220 has a silhouette that you will hardly confuse after a few sightings. For the -100, three observations help you.

Together, these three points give a reliable picture of the A220 family. Whether it is the -100 or the -300 is then decided by the length. As always, the final confirmation comes from the registration, which you can look up in any database. How registrations are structured is explained in the article Understanding aircraft registrations.

A220-100 or A220-300?

Both variants share cockpit, wing, tail and engine family. Airbus cites 99 percent commonality. The difference lies in the stretched fuselage of the -300 and the reinforcements that follow from it.

Feature	A220-100	A220-300
ICAO type designator	BCS1	BCS3
Former name	CS100	CS300
Length	35.0 m	around 38.7 m
Wingspan	35.1 m	35.1 m
Seat range according to Airbus	100–135	120–160
Look in profile	short, stocky	stretched, classic jet

The -300 is clearly the more sought-after version in the market. Many airlines you see with the A220 in Europe – such as airBaltic – fly only the longer variant. So if you see an A220, statistically it is more likely a -300. That is exactly why a close look is worthwhile: a genuine -100 is the rarer entry in many logbooks. You will find more on the big sister on the page about the Airbus A220-300.

A220, E-Jet, A319 or CRJ?

In the size class of around 100 to 130 seats, there are several candidates for mix-ups. The finder helps you narrow it down.

The Embraer E190 is the most common mix-up partner. Its fuselage is narrower, and the cabin has four instead of five seats per row. The newer E190-E2 also carries a Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan, but looks completely different thanks to the slender fuselage and the long nose.

The Airbus A319 is surprisingly close to the A220-100 in dimensions. But it has the typical A320 nose, sits on a wider fuselage with six seats per row and, depending on the version, has wingtip fences or Sharklets. For the CRJ900 and Fokker 100, a glance at the tail is enough: engines at the rear, horizontal stabilizer on top of the fin. You will find more basics on type identification in the guide Identifying aircraft types for beginners.

The history: from Bombardier to Airbus

The C Series was Bombardier’s attempt to enter the Airbus and Boeing market with a completely newly developed jet. After the first flight in 2013, the CS100 received certification from the Canadian authority in December 2015, followed by the American FAA and the European EASA in 2016.

The launch operator was Swiss. At the end of June 2016, the airline took delivery of its first CS100 with the registration HB-JBA, and on July 15, 2016 the first scheduled flight from Zurich to Paris followed. The following year, the CS100 received approval for steep approaches, and Swiss flew it to London City from August 2017 – an inner-city airport with a particularly steep approach angle.

Economically, the program remained difficult for Bombardier. In 2018, Airbus took the majority stake, renamed the family A220 in July 2018 and later built a second final assembly line in Mobile in the US state of Alabama. In the US, Delta Air Lines put the A220-100 into scheduled service in February 2019; Delta is still by far the largest operator of this variant.

Where you can find the A220-100

In German-speaking countries, the A220-100 was firmly tied to Swiss and Zurich Airport for years. That is changing right now: according to industry reports from August 2026, based on the quarterly presentation of the Lufthansa Group, Swiss is taking all A220-100 out of service by the end of 2027. Of the original nine aircraft, according to these reports only four were most recently in operation, and the rest are parked or serve as spare parts donors. The larger A220-300 continues to fly with Swiss.

For you, that means: if you still want to photograph a Swiss A220-100 in scheduled service, you had better not wait too long. Check the tracking service specifically for BCS1 and Swiss registrations, because the assignments are irregular.

Outside Switzerland, ITA Airways, Croatia Airlines and Bulgaria Air, among others, fly smaller A220-100 fleets in Europe, as the operator overview derived from Airbus delivery data shows. Whether and on which routes these aircraft come to the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) depends on the respective schedule. LOT Polish Airlines is expected to join: the airline ordered 20 each of the A220-100 and A220-300 in June 2025, and first deliveries are announced for 2027.

Place	Chance of a hit	Why
Zurich	medium, declining	Swiss base, remaining fleet until the phase-out at the end of 2027
Large hubs in Germany and Austria	low to medium	Occasional flights by European operators, depending on the schedule
Smaller regional airports	low	At most charters, ferry flights or special flights
USA	high	Delta operates the largest A220-100 fleet

How to follow such flights live is explained in the guide on flight tracking with ADS-B. What is behind codes like BCS1 is covered in the article IATA and ICAO codes explained.

Spotting in Zurich: the A220 in front of your lens

In Zurich, Observation Deck B is the most convenient starting point: from there you see the apron and taxiing aircraft up close. If you prefer to experience takeoffs and landings outside at the runway system, the Butzenbüel is a popular hill with a view of the action.

Which runway is in use at any moment depends on the wind and the airport’s operating rules. That decides whether you catch the A220 on approach, on takeoff or only while taxiing. How to estimate the runway configuration in advance is explained in the article Understanding runway direction at airports.

Whether your vantage point is legally unproblematic is covered in the article Is plane spotting allowed?. You will find tips on how to get to rare aircraft in general under Spotting rare aircraft.

Photo tips especially for the A220-100

The little A220 is a likable subject: compact, modern, with big engines and clean lines. A few tricks help you show it well.

You can calculate in advance when the light suits your spot; how that works is explained in the guide Planning sun position for your photo spot. Which focal length is worthwhile is covered in the article Lenses for plane spotting. And if you are just starting out: Plane spotting for beginners gets you on course quickly.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Conclusion

The A220-100 is one of the most interesting small jets of recent years: developed in Canada as the CS100, taken over by Airbus and first in scheduled service with Swiss. You can recognize it by short proportions, big geared turbofan engines and the distinctive nose. Because Swiss is retiring the sub-fleet by the end of 2027, it is increasingly becoming a real collector’s item in German-speaking countries.