Commitment Includes 78 A320neo Aircraft

August 16, 2011 — Qantas has selected for the first time Airbus A320 aircraft to launch its new premium airline to service routes to/from Australia and the Asian region. In addition, Jetstar has selected the Airbus A320 to continue its growth in Australia and Asia. The commitment to order a minimum of 106 A320 Family aircraft includes 78 A320neo jets, making Qantas the latest airline to select the world’s best selling single-aisle aircraft.

The decision to go with Airbus for its short to medium haul operations underpins the Qantas long term strategy to build up a fleet of the world’s most fuel efficient and reliable aircraft.

“We are delighted to be investing in Airbus’ fuel efficient A320 Family, including the new A320neo as part of Qantas’ international transformation plan and Jetstar’s pan-Asian expansion.” said Alan Joyce, Qantas CEO. “The A320 Family’s outstanding operational efficiency and comfort, paired with its environmental credentials, make it the right choice for Qantas.”

“Qantas is an exceptionally forward looking and pioneering airline and we are delighted to play such a significant role in the company’s future strategy.” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “In a fiercely competitive market this is a great endorsement for our eco-efficient A320neo and A320 aircraft with their unique passenger appeal thanks to their wider cabin.”
The A320neo is a new engine option for the A320 Family to enter service in 2015. It incorporates latest generation engines and large “Sharklet” wing tip devices, which together will deliver 15 percent in fuel and CO2 emission savings.

In parallel with this new order, Qantas has decided to adapt deliveries of the last six of its twenty A380s to the airline’s new business plan. This affects deliveries after 2013.

At present, Qantas’ A380 fleet stands at ten, making the carrier the third largest A380 operator worldwide.
A320 Family orders to date already exceed 7,800, reaffirming its position as the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family. To date over 4,700 have been delivered to over 330 customers and operators worldwide. The A320neo has over 95 percent airframe commonality with the existing A320 models while offering up to 500 nautical miles (950 kilometres) more range or two tonnes more payload. It is offered with engines from CFM International’s LEAP-X or Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1100G.
Qantas will make its engine decision at a later date.

Airbus has received more than 1200 A320neo orders and commitments since its launch just nine months ago, in December 2010.

A320neo Continues To Scoop Up Orders From Top Leasing Companies

June 21, 2011 —CIT Group Inc. (NYSE CIT), a leading global commercial finance company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus for 50 A320neo Family aircraft. The deal was signed today at the 49th Le Bourget airshow by C. Jeffrey Knittel, President of Transportation Finance at CIT and John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer Customers.

This order brings the total number of aircraft in the Airbus order book for CIT to 241 aircraft, comprising 195 A320 Family aircraft (including the 50 A320neo aircraft), 39 A330s, seven A350 XWBs. Of these 141 have been delivered so far.

“This order will enable CIT Aerospace to maintain one of the youngest and most technologically advanced fleets in the industry and will help us meet our customers’ demand for state-of-the-art, fuel efficient aircraft,” said C. Jeffrey Knittel, President of Transportation Finance at CIT.

“We are delighted that a long standing Airbus customer and leading leasing company such as CIT has placed its first order for the industry’s new benchmark in fuel efficient, single-aisle aircraft, the A320neo,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer Customers. ”This order yet again underlines the continued anticipated high demand for A320neo on the leasing market in particular thanks to their outstandingly high levels of reliability and unbeatable economics of the A320 Family.”

Over 7,000 A320 Family aircraft have already been ordered and more than 4,700 delivered to more than 330 customers and operators worldwide reaffirming its position as the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family. The A320neo has over 95 percent airframe commonality making it an easy fit into existing fleets while offering up to 500 nautical miles (950 kilometres) more range or two tonnes more payload at a given range.

The A320neo is a new engine option for the A320 Family entering into service from 2015 and incorporates latest generation engines and large “Sharklet” wing tip devices, which together will deliver 15 percent in fuel savings. This reduction in fuel burn is equivalent to 1.4m litres of fuel – the consumption of 1,000 mid size cars. This saves 3,600 tonnes of C02 per aircraft per year, the amount of C02 absorbed by 240,000 mature trees. The A320neo NOx emissions are 50% below CAEP/6 and this aircraft also has considerably smaller noise footprint.

The new engine option for Airbus’ best-selling A320 Family of jetliners continues to build momentum, having already received more than 330 firm orders and commitments as the company gears up for an October 2015 entry-into-service.

April 28, 2011 — The ­­­­­­­­­­­exceptional commercial activity for Airbus’ highly-efficient A320neo (new engine option) is led by the 100-aircraft order from international leasing company ILFC – which was announced earlier this week, finalising a memorandum of understanding inked in March.

Joining ILFC in signing agreements since the option’s announcement in December 2010 are IndiGo, Virgin America and Brazil’s TAM – each of which will benefit from the A320neo’s more efficient engines and large “Sharklet” wing tip devices for fuel savings of up to 15 per cent, along with additional range of up to 500 nautical miles/900 km. or 2 tonnes of extra payload.

The A320neo marks a new step in Airbus’ continuous evolution of the A320 Family, which demonstrates its maturity and reliability in operational service worldwide. As this new engine option offers maximum benefit with minimal changes from baseline A320 Family aircraft, the A320neo will be built using Airbus’ existing industrial system – with airframes for both versions manufactured in parallel for high production flexibility.

In addition to the integration of Sharklets and two new engine choices – CFM International’s LEAP-X and the PW1100G by Pratt & Whitney – modifications for the A320neo configuration include certain structural changes to specific airframe areas, along with a new engine pylon.
Earlier this year, customers selected the PW1100G as lead development engine, allowing the A320neo’s industrial development phase to begin in earnest. Originally scheduled for a service entry in 2016, this date was moved up earlier this month due to high market demand.
Airbus now is targeting the fall of 2014 for a maiden flight of its A320neo, with certification to follow about one year later. Current planning calls for an eight-aircraft flight test programme, which will accumulate a combined total of approximately 2,600 flight hours.