As the year draws to a close, the aviation community is looking forward to a brighter 2022. With hopes for a continued recovery, more and more companies are promising to launch new aircraft, many of which had been put on hold due to the pandemic.  

At AeroTime, we have compiled a list of aircraft – both civilian and military – which stand a good chance of being spotted in the air for the first time. Some of them may have flown before, but only occasionally, and not many people had a chance to observe them. Others are brand new, and offer a unique chance for plane spotters to witness a maiden flight. 

What? A maiden flight of Airbus’s latest (and record-breaking) jet 

When? 2022 (precise date undisclosed) 

Where? Airbus Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport (XFW) 

The newest addition to Airbus’s venerable A320 family is unique in many aspects: it is the longest-range narrow body aircraft ever made, and offers airlines a chance to begin intercontinental flights between destinations that are too small to warrant flying a wide-body jet.  

The aircraft was first announced in 2018. Back then, the plan was to put it into service by 2022. However, it suffered some delays and it wasn’t until mid-2021 that the first prototype entered assembly. In late 2021, it was almost ready, with only the finishing touches left, as the airframe was at the very end of the assembly line at the Airbus…