JetBlue just took delivery of its first Airbus A220, the long-awaited jet that will replace the airline’s least popular model

JetBlue just took delivery of its first Airbus A220, the long-awaited jet that will replace the airline’s least popular model

JetBlue Airways became the second US airline to receive the Airbus A220 on Thursday with the first aircraft flying to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. 

The A220 comes as part of a fleet renewal that will see JetBlue retire its smallest jet, the Embraer E190.

Passengers can expect to fly on the jet in 2021 with the first routes planned out of JetBlue's Boston hub. 

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Christmas came a bit late for one airline as Thursday saw the first delivery of the Airbus A220 to JetBlue Airways, just in time for the new year. 

Airbus handed the keys over to JetBlue for the first of 70 models, marking a new era for the 20-year-old carrier that will see its smallest aircraft retired and replaced with one of the newest aircraft currently flying.  

The new plane, which remains nameless for the time being but wears the registration N3008J, came painted in JetBlue's instantly-recognizable blue and white livery but sports a new tail design. The pattern is called "hops," the term for the flights that make up a larger journey, as the curved lines resemble airline routes.

Each new JetBlue aircraft type receives a new tail design, a trend