Tag Archives: A320neo

AerCap firms up an order for 50 additional Airbus A320neo Family aircraft

AerCap (Amsterdam) has firmed up an order for 50 additional Airbus A320neo Family aircraft at the Farnborough International Airshow 2014. The contract, AerCap’s first major aircraft order following the acquisition of ILFC earlier this year, was signed by Philip Scruggs, AerCap’s President & Chief Commercial Officer and Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President and CEO. AerCap will announce its engine selection in due course.

Including today’s order for 50 A320neo aircraft, AerCap’s total order of A320neo aircraft rises to 200 and its total orders of Airbus aircraft rises to 945. Following the lessor’s acquisition of ILFC, AerCap becomes Airbus’ largest customer overall, both in number and value of aircraft purchased.

Image: Airbus.

IAG converts 20 Airbus A320neo options into firm orders for British Airways

International Airlines Group (IAG) (London) has converted 20 A320neo options into a firm order. These aircraft are currently intended to replace 21 shorthaul British Airways (London) aircraft.

British Airways already operates 120 Airbus single aisle aircraft covering the full Family range from the smallest A318 to the largest A321.

Previously in August 2013, IAG announced that, as part of a Vueling order for up to 120 Airbus A320 family aircraft, it had also secured 100 A320neo options.

To date, firm orders for the NEO have reached over 2,800 aircraft representing a 60 per cent share market share in its category.

Image: Airbus.

British Airways:

Airbus to offer high-density seating for the A320 and A321

Airbus (Toulouse), in appealing to ultra low-fare carriers where the number of seats that can be sold is important, is now offering a high-density configuration version for the A320neo/A320ceo of 189 seats and 240 seats for the A321neo. Airbus issued this statement:

In offering even more efficiency for airline operators, Airbus is increasing seating capacity for A320neo (new engine option) and A320ceo (current engine option) jetliners to 189 seats, while also adding 20 more seats for A321neo aircraft to accommodate 240 passengers in an efficient high-density, all-economy layout.

“We are supporting the higher seat count with intelligent means to give living space to passengers,” said Klaus Roewe, Airbus’ Senior Vice President – A320neo Programme. “These new A320 Family configurations do not compromise on comfort, as they retain the Airbus standard of 18-inch wide seats in economy.”

To raise the A320’s capacity to 189 seats, Airbus has worked with airworthiness authorities to certify increased exit limits for the forward and aft doors on this version of the aircraft, taking advantage of exits that are significantly larger than the Type C requirements they were originally certified to. Also incorporated are wider evacuation slides or slide/rafts.

For the A321neo, the use of state-of-the-art slim-line seats and a new exit door arrangement – along with the optimized “Space-Flex” rear cabin galley configuration and Smart-Lavatory design – will increase this stretched fuselage jetliner version’s passenger capacity to 240 passengers, all while retaining Airbus’ 18-inch wide seat standard for economy travellers.

Roewe explained that six or more seats are added by using the new exit door arrangement, which eliminates Door 2 and the first cross-aisle in the fuselage’s forward section, while also incorporating a new double over-wing exit and shifting Door 3 aft-ward by four frames – thereby reducing the area necessary to accommodate emergency exit rows in the aircraft.

“If you add this up, it results in an approximately six per cent fuel burn per seat reduction – only by incorporating more seats in the A321neo aircraft,” Roewe added.

Image: Airbus.

Poll:

The first Airbus A320neo is rolled out at Toulouse

Airbus (Toulouse) yesterday (July 1) rolled out the first assembled A320neo (new engine option). The pictured Airbus A320-271N WL F-WNEO (msn 6101) will soon enter its flight test program. The manufacturer issued this statement:

The assembly of Airbus’ first A320neo has been completed following painting of the aircraft and the mounting of Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM engines. Msn 6101, which will be the first A320neo to fly, will soon start its ground tests to prepare for first flight.

The flight test campaign for the A320neo will kick-off in September 2014, paving the way for Entry Into Service in Q4 2015.

The A320neo “new engine option” incorporates many innovations, including latest generation engines and large Sharklet wing-tip devices, which together deliver 15 percent in fuel savings and a reduction of 3,600 tonnes of C02 per aircraft per year. With a total of nearly 2,700 orders received from more than 50 customers since its launch in 2010, the A320neo Family has captured some 60 percent of the market, clearly demonstrating its leadership.

Airbus also issued this statement about the upcoming test program:

The highly-efficient NEO (new engine option) single-aisle jetliner project is another step closer to taking flight with the rollout of the initial A320neo – a key milestone as Airbus continues on-schedule for the aircraft’s maiden flight.

Prominently featuring the NEO branding on its livery, this aircraft – designated MSN6101 in the company’s numbering system – is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM engines and is the first in Airbus’ A320neo Family developmental fleet. It is equipped with extensive flight test instrumentation for handling qualities, performance and engine tests, along with the high-altitude, and hot- and cold-weather campaigns.

In total, Airbus’ NEO flight-test fleet will comprise eight aircraft. This includes two A320neos, one A319neo and one A321neo for each of the new engine choices: Pratt & Whitney’s PW1100G-JM and the CFM International LEAP-1A.

The company’s rigorous A320neo Family flight-test and certification programme is facilitated by the jetliner’s fly-by-wire commonality, as well as previous flight dynamics testing during the Sharklet-certification campaign, explained Sandra Bour-Schaeffer, Project Flight Test Engineer for the NEO programme at Airbus.

Once msn 6101 takes flight, Airbus will begin with initial development and aircraft flight manual tests, before proceeding into its A320neo development and certification phase and maturity campaign – to ensure the A320neo fully meets customer requirements at service entry, which is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2015.

In addition, a second Pratt & Whitney-powered A320neo aircraft is planned to join the developmental fleet this year – fitted with lighter flight test instrumentation for noise, functionality, reliability testing and ETOPS approval.

Airbus already is well advanced with “up-front” A320neo testing, including approximately 250 flight hours performed on the company’s A320ceo (current engine option) in-house developmental aircraft to evaluate hardware and software for NEO flight control laws, and test bench validation of thrust reversers.
To further prepare for first flight, Airbus will begin a “virtual flight-test campaign” this summer, which includes simulator-based evaluations of flying scenarios and aircraft systems.

Incorporating its new engine choices, along with the application of Airbus’ fuel-saving Sharklets wingtip devices, the NEO shares over 95 per cent commonality with CEO aircraft – while delivering at least 15 per cent reduction in fuel consumption for operators.

Air New Zealand orders 14 new Airbus aircraft, the first Boeing 787-9 completes its first flight

Air New Zealand (Auckland) has announced it has placed an order for 10 Airbus A320neo aircraft (above), one A320ceo and three A321neo aircraft (above, image via Airbus). The signing ceremony took place at the IATA annual meeting today in Doha, Qatar.

In other news, on May 29 Air New Zealand’s first Boeing 787-9 (ZK-NZE) (above) took to the air for the first time, successfully completing its first production test flight in the skies above Seattle, Washington.

Copyright Photo: Daniel Gorun/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 787-9 ZK-NZE (msn 34334) taxies at Paine Field near Everett, WA.

The aircraft, which is in Air New Zealand’s signature black livery, is currently in the final phases of the delivery process before being formally handed over to the airline as the new owner.

Air New Zealand is the launch customer for the Boeing 787-9 and has 10 of these stretch versions of the 787 on order.

This first test flight is known as a B1 flight where the two pilots put the aircraft through its paces thoroughly exercising its systems to verify performance while at the same time the functionality of every aspect of the cabin is tested in-flight.

The distinctive black aircraft departed from Paine Field airport north of Seattle at 1:45 pm (1345) local time. It reached an altitude of 11,800 meters (39,000 feet) and an airspeed of 360 knots which is standard for a B1 flight and returned to Paine Field three hours and ten minutes later.

Air New Zealand:

Royal Brunei signs a firm order for seven Airbus A320neo aircraft

Royal Brunei Airlines (Bandar Seri Begawan) has signed a contract with Airbus covering the firm order of seven A320neo aircraft plus three options, under the latest phase of its fleet modernization program. Featuring a two class premium layout, the aircraft will be operated on the airline’s regional network linking Bandar Seri Begawan with destinations across Asia. The aircraft will be powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM engines.

Image: Airbus.

Royal Brunei Airlines:

The first Airbus A320neo moves ahead in the final assembly process

Final assembly of the first Airbus A320neo is advancing rapidly in Toulouse, France, putting this “new engine option” jetliner program on track for its maiden flight later this year, to be followed by the initial customer delivery in 2015.

The number one Airbus A320neo began its final assembly process last month – starting with the join-up of its forward and aft fuselage sections, which were produced at Airbus’ St. Nazaire site in France and Hamburg, Germany facility respectively, then delivered to Toulouse.

This was followed by the mating of major aircraft structures produced at Airbus sites across Europe, including the wings (Broughton, UK); vertical tailplane (Stade, Germany); horizontal tailplane (Getafe, Spain); engine pylons (St. Eloi, France); and outer and inner flaps (Bremen, Germany). During recent activity, the main flight-test instrumentation equipment also was installed.

In parallel, the first A320neo jetliner’s PW1100G-JM engines are being prepared at Pratt & Whitney’s manufacturing facilities in the U.S., and will be delivered to Airbus in the coming months.

The A320neo incorporates many innovations, including latest-generation engines and large Sharklet wing-tip devices – which together deliver 15 per cent in fuel savings and a reduction of 3,600 tonnes of C02 per aircraft per year. With a total of more than 2,600 orders received from 50 customers since its 2010 launch, the A320neo Family has captured some 60 per cent of the market.

ANA will order 70 Airbus and Boeing aircraft including the new 777-9X

ANA Holdings (ANA-All Nippon Airways) (Tokyo) plans to place an order for 20 new Boeing 777-9X aircraft (below) as well as 14 additional Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The Japanese carrier also ordered six additional Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft (above). ANA also ordered 30 additional Airbus A320 (below bottom) and A321neo aircraft.

This order restores the momentum for the new Boeing 777X project as Japan Airlines had previously defected from Boeing to Airbus with an order for 31 Airbus A50s.

ANA Holdings issued this statement:

ANA Holdings is to place firm orders for 70 new aircraft worth ¥1700 billion at list prices with Boeing and Airbus. The order, approved at a meeting today (March 27) of the Board of Directors of ANA HD, is the biggest in the airline’s history and will support ANA’s drive to become one of the world’s leading airline groups.

The aircraft will be delivered during period of FY 2016-2027 and will increase the size of the ANA fleet to 250 aircraft.

ANA HD has decided to purchase twenty Boing 777-9X, a large twin-aisle aircraft with 15% larger seating capacity, as a successor to its existing fleet of Boeing 777-300 ERs. In addition, ANA HD will purchase six further Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft to support the expansion of its international services until delivery of Boeing 777-9X.

ANA HD will also place fourteen additional orders for the medium-sized Boeing 787-9 aircraft. This will take its total fleet of Dreamliners to 80, confirming ANA as the world’s biggest operator of this fuel-efficient airliner.

The order with Airbus consists of 30 smaller single-aisle jets from the A320 family – seven A320neo aircraft and twenty-three A321neo aircraft, which will replace ANA’s existing Boeing 737-500 and Airbus A320ceo aircraft.

The new Boeing aircraft will be used predominantly on international routes while the new Airbus aircraft will be introduced both on domestic routes and international routes.

ANA Group’s introduction of these new aircraft will help it respond to the needs of the increasing number of passengers expected to arrive in Japan in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and will support the Japanese government’s plans to boost the annual total of foreign visitors to Japan to 20 million.

Top Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-381 ER JA783A (msn 27940) approaches the runway at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT).

ANA:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus did not win a new Japanese customer for the new A350 but got a consolation order for more Airbus A320s which will become the predominate domestic aircraft for the ANA Group (over the Boeing 737NG). Airbus A320-211 JA8946 (msn 669) with additional “Inspiration of Japan” markings also arrives at Narita International Airport.

Tigerair signs MOU for 37 Airbus A320neo aircraft + 13 options

Tigerair (Singapore) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Airbus for the purchase of up to 50 A320neo aircraft for future fleet renewal and growth. The deal covers 37 firm orders plus 13 options. The aircraft will be powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1100 engines and will be operated by the airline across its Asia-Pacific route network.

Tigerair, established in 2004 as Tiger Airways, comprises three airlines – Tigerair Singapore, Tigerair Mandala (Indonesia) and Tigerair Australia. Collectively, the Group’s network extends to over 50 destinations across 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The Group currently operates an all-Airbus fleet of 48 A320-family aircraft, averaging less than three years of age.

Image: Airbus.

Tigerair (Singapore):

Airbus starts the final assembly of the first A320neo in Toulouse

Airbus has started final assembly of the first A320neo (msn 6101) at its Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Toulouse (France), with the join-up of the forward and aft fuselage sections which recently arrived from St. Nazaire in France and Hamburg in Germany respectively.

Once this phase is completed, the next stage is the wing to fuselage join-up. Overall it takes about one month to complete the final assembly of an A320 Family aircraft. On average, every seven hours an A320 Family aircraft leaves one of the three A320 Family FAL’s in Toulouse, Hamburg, or Tianjin.

According to Airbus, “The A320neo first flight will take place in the fourth quarter of 2014 and first delivery in the fourth quarter of 2015. The A320neo “new engine option” incorporates many innovations, including latest generation engines and large Sharklet wing-tip devices, which together deliver 15 percent in fuel savings and a reduction of 3,600 tonnes of C0₂ per aircraft per year. With a total of more than 2,600 orders received from 50 customers since its launch in 2010, the A320neo Family has captured some 60 percent of the market, clearly demonstrating its leadership.”