Airbus rolled out Delta's first A220-100 from the painting hangar Sept. 14 in Mirabel, Québec. The aircraft, formerly the Bombardier CSeries 100, was rebranded the A220-100 in July after Airbus took control of the CSeries program. According to Airbus, Delta will be the first US airline to take delivery of the A220, featuring a “state-of-the art interior and delivering best-in-class fuel performance.” The aircraft will move to preflight activities in Mirabel’s A220 flight line hangar before taking off for its first flight later this fall. It is scheduled to begin service in early 2019.<br/>
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Benjamin Smith will assume his new position as Air France-KLM’s new CEO Sept. 17, bringing to a close a four month-period in which the airline group was without a permanent boss after the escalation of a labor conflict led to the departure of his predecessor Jean-Marc Janaillac. Smith, previously Air Canada COO and president-airlines, and the first non-French national to head the Franco-Dutch group, was appointed Aug. 16, after a long drawn-out and tense search for a successor to Janaillac who resigned in May. Janaillac had staked his future with the company on resolving a long-running labour conflict with Air France employees that had led to 15 strike days earlier in the year.<br/>