Tag Archives: Airbus A320neo

Air Seychelles takes delivery of Africa’s first Airbus A320neo

Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, has taken delivery of Africa’s first A320neo on lease from CDB Aviation, becoming the first African airline to operate the A320neo aircraft.

The new aircraft will allow Air Seychelles to increase capacity on its network, while delivering significant fuel savings and reducing the airline’s operating costs. Air Seychelles’ new A320neo is equipped with a new inflight product reflecting the latest trends in air travel industry, offering passengers greater level of comfort and an enhanced travel experience. With its widest single-aisle cabin, the A320neo allows Air Seychelles to offer unmatched comfort in all classes and Airbus’ 18-inch-wide seats in economy as standard.

The A320neo is the world’s most advanced and fuel-efficient single-aisle aircraft. Air Seychelles’ A320neo jetliner is powered by the new-generation LEAP-1A engine from CFM International and features large, fuel-saving wingtip devices known as Sharklets.

With the addition of 32 new Airbus operators in the continent since 2010, today 243 Airbus aircraft are flown by African airlines, out of which, 145 aircraft are A320 Family. This is a testament to the appeal and performance of the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family across the continent.

Photo: Airbus.

Air Malta welcomes its second brand new Airbus A320neo

Air Malta’s newest addition to the fleet – a brand new 180-seater Airbus A320neo – arrived in Malta on July 31.

The aircraft, which has been registered on the Maltese aircraft register as 9H-NEB, was flown directly from the Airbus’ Hamburg facility (above) and greeted by staff members upon arrival. It entered into service on August 1 with a morning flight to Milan Malpensa.

The aircraft has been configured according to Air Malta’s requirements. The cabin interior offers 18-inch-wide seats where passengers can enjoy more personal space, comfort and leg room.

Apart from enhanced specifications including a more modern look and feel of the cabin, led lightning and larger luggage storage, the aircraft offers reduced operational costs for Air Malta especially with its improved fuel efficiency of around 20%. Due to its lower fuel burn rate, the aircraft is capable of longer-range flights of about 10-15%. The aircraft is equipped with CFM International LEAP-1A engines.

A third brand new Airbus A320neo is expected to join the airline’s fleet in the coming weeks.

Last year Air Malta embarked on a 5-year fleet renewal project that will see the replacement of all aircraft with neo models.

Photos by Daryl Cauchi and Daniel Balzan.

Atlantic Airways takes delivery of its first Airbus A320neo

Atlantic Airways, the Faroe Islands flag carrier, has taken delivery of its first Airbus A320neo, msn 8918.

Leased from Air Lease Corporation, this aircraft is powered by CFMI LEAP-1A engines and is configured in an all-economy cabin layout.

With its new Airbus fleet member Atlantic Airways will further develop its European network. The airline, an Airbus customer since 2008, already operates an all-Airbus fleet of three A320 Family aircraft (currently two A319ceos and one A320ceo). In addition, the airline also recently placed a firm order for two additional A320neos.

Top Photo: Airbus.

flyadeal switches to Airbus, cancels its Boeing 737 MAX order

flyadeal has made this announcement:

flyadeal has announced a significant growth to its fleet, with an order for 30 Airbus A320neo aircraft, and options for a further 20 A320neo family aircraft.

This is in response to continuing growth in passenger demand across domestic, regional and international routes.

Deliveries of the flyadeal aircraft will commence in 2021.

The allocation of the new aircraft to flyadeal follows from the agreement which Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation (Saudia) signed during the Paris Air Show in June this year.

The agreement was for a total of 100 aircraft, and was signed by His Excellency Eng. Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, Director General of Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation and Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer, in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Ghassan Abdulrahman Al-Shibil, Chairman Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation.

The additional aircraft are part of the dual brand strategy of the Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation where flyadeal serves the price conscious customer that is seeking everyday low fares.

This order will result in flyadeal operating an all- Airbus A320 fleet in the future.

Note: An order with Boeing for 30 737 MAX jets has been cancelled.

Accipiter Holdings purchases 20 A320neo aircraft

Accipiter Holdings (Dublin) has signed a Purchase Agreement to acquire 20 Airbus A320neo aircraft. The order, which was disclosed during the Paris Air Show by Paul Sheridan, Accipiter CEO and Isabelle Floret, Head of Leasing Markets, had been completed in March 2019, and was listed in the order books as undisclosed.

The new single-aisle aircraft will further expand the portfolio of Accipiter Holdings, which aims to be a leading player in the global leasing market and is wholly owned by Hong Kong’s CK Asset Holdings Ltd. Together with Vermillion, its joint venture with Mitsubishi Corporation subsidiary MC Aviation Partners (MCAP), Accipiter manages a total portfolio of just under 150 owned and committed aircraft.

Engine selection will be made at a later date.

Image: Airbus.

Atlantic Airways orders two Airbus A320neo aircraft

Atlantic Airways, the Faroe Islands flag carrier, has signed a Purchase Agreement with Airbus for two A320neo aircraft, becoming the latest A320neo customer. The engine selection will be made at a later date.

With this new order, Atlantic Airways intends to further develop its European network. The airline, an Airbus customer since 2008, already operates a fleet of three A320 Family aircraft.

Image: Airbus.

AirAsia upsizes Airbus A320neo order to larger A321neo

AirAsia will upsize its future Airbus single aisle fleet, converting 253 orders for the A320neo to the larger A321neo version. The change will enable the airline to offer higher capacity in response to ongoing strong demand across its network. AirAsia becomes the world’s largest customer for the A321neo.

In total, AirAsia has placed orders for 592 A320 Family aircraft. Following the upsizing, AirAsia’s backlog with Airbus includes 353 A321neo. To date, the airline has taken delivery of 224 A320 Family aircraft, flying out of its bases in Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines and Thailand.

Image: Airbus.

Saudi Arabian Airlines to boost Airbus A320neo Family fleet up to 100

Saudia – Saudi Arabian Airlines, the national flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, has decided to expand its existing Airbus A320neo Family order from 35 to as many as 100 NEO aircraft including 35 options. The additional firm order takes Saudia’s order of A320neo Family aircraft to 65 of which 15 are A321XLRs.

The agreement was announced at the Paris Air Show by His Excellency Eng. Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, Director General of Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation and Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer.

Saudia is the biggest Airbus operator in the Kingdom and currently operates a portfolio of 100 Airbus aircraft comprising A320ceo Family and A330ceo. This latest purchase is in line with the Group’s Transformation Program, which includes the establishment and growth of a dual-brand strategy of operating airlines catering to the different customer segments in the Kingdom, the region and beyond.

Image: Airbus.

Air Macau showcases its first Airbus A320neo

Air Macau has presented its first A320neo (B-MCK) at a ceremony held at Macau International Airport. The aircraft is the 21st Airbus aircraft in Air Macau’s fleet that already includes four A319ceo, six A320ceo and 10 A321ceo aircraft.

In total, Air Macau will receive eight additional A320neo and A321neo aircraft under leasing agreement in order to meet its fleet renewal and expansion program.

The new aircraft features 158 seats (eight business and 150 economy seats). Selected for its outstanding operational efficiency, comfort and range, the A320neo will be deployed by the career on its regional services.

Featuring the widest single-aisle cabin in the sky, the A320neo Family incorporates the very latest technologies including new generation engines and Sharklets, which together deliver at least 15 percent fuel savings at delivery and 20 percent by 2020. At the end of March 2019, the A320neo Family had received more than 6,500 firm orders from over 100 customers worldwide.

Photo: Airbus.

Uzbekistan Airways takes delivery of its first Airbus A320neo

Uzbekistan Airways, the flagship airline of Uzbekistan, has taken delivery of its first Airbus A320neo (UK32021), confirming the success of the A320 Family in Central Asia. The event took place on March 8 in Hamburg, Germany with Gennadiy Kharlap, Deputy Director General of Uzbekistan Airways, and Kimon Sotiropoulos, Airbus Vice President – Central and Northern Europe, Russia & CIS.

The aircraft, acquired through a leasing contract with BOC, is part of an order for two aircraft, featuring a two-class cabin with 12 premium and 138 economy seats. The aircraft is powered by CFM International LEAP 1A engines.

Uzbekistan Airways became the first airline in 1996 in a CIS country to operate a Western-built aircraft. The A320neo, renowned for its unbeatable fuel efficiency, will join the airline’s fleet of ten A320ceo aircraft operated since 2010 across a network in Europe, America, the Middle East and Asia.

The A320neo and its derivative aircraft family members are the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft with over 6,500 orders from over 100 customers.

Photo: Airbus.