. 2018 prices:. A318: US$77.4 million. A319: US$92.3 million. A320: US$101.0 million. A321: US$118.3 million Variants Developed into The Airbus A320 family consists of, commercial passenger manufactured. The family includes the, A320 and, as well as the.
The A320s are also named A320ceo (current engine option) after the introduction of the. Final assembly of the family takes place in, and,. A plant in, has also been producing aircraft for since 2009, while a final assembly facility in, delivered its first A321 in April 2016. The aircraft family can accommodate up to 236 passengers and has a of 3,100 to 12,000 (1,700 to 6,500 nmi), depending on model.
The Airbus A 320 cockpit has been a huge milestone in terms of situational awareness and working comfort by the time of its introduction. It is not often that one can experience the Airbus A 320 cockpit (or any flight deck) inflight as a non-pilot today, because of the strict security regulations since 9/11.
The first member of the A320 family—the A320—was launched in March 1984, on 22 February 1987, and was first delivered in March 1988 to launch customer. The family was extended to include the A321 (first delivered 1994), the A319 (1996), and the A318 (2003). The A320 family pioneered the use of digital, as well as controls, in commercial aircraft. There has been a continuous improvement process since introduction. As of 30 November 2018, a total of 8,512 Airbus A320-family aircraft, of which 8,126 are in service.
In addition, another 5,909 airliners are. It ranked as the world's fastest-selling jet airliner family according to records from 2005 to 2007, and as the best-selling single-generation aircraft programme. The A320 family has proved popular with airlines including such as, which ordered A319s and A320s to replace its ageing fleet. As of December 2017, was the largest operator of the Airbus A320 family aircraft, operating 392 aircraft. The aircraft family competes directly with the and has competed with the, and the /.
In December 2010, Airbus announced a new generation of the A320 family, the (new engine option). The A320neo offers new, more efficient engines, combined with airframe improvements and the addition of, named Sharklets by Airbus. The aircraft will deliver fuel savings of up to 15%. As of November 2018, a total of 6,285 A320neo family aircraft had been ordered by more than 70 airlines, making it the fastest selling commercial aircraft.
The first A320neo was delivered to on 20 January 2016 and it entered service on 25 January 2016. Contents. Development Origins When Airbus designed the during the late 1960s and early 1970s, it envisaged a broad family of airliners with which to compete against and, two established US aerospace manufacturers. From the moment of formation, Airbus had begun studies into derivatives of the Airbus A300B in support of this long-term goal. Prior to the service introduction of the first Airbus airliners, engineers within Airbus had identified nine possible variations of the A300 known as A300B1 to B9. A 10th variation, conceived in 1973, later the first to be constructed, was designated the A300B10. It was a smaller aircraft which would be developed into the long-range.
Airbus then focused its efforts on the single-aisle market, which was dominated by the. Plans from a number of European aircraft manufacturers called for a successor to the relatively successful, and to replace the and DC-9. Germany's MBB ( ), Sweden's and Spain's worked on the EUROPLANE, a 180- to 200-seat aircraft.
It was abandoned after intruding on A310 specifications., and worked on a number of 150-seat designs. Alongside BAe (which at the time was not part of Airbus) were MBB, Fokker-VFW. The design within the JET study that was carried forward was the JET2 (163 passengers), which then became the Airbus S.A1/2/3 series (Single Aisle), before settling on the A320 name for its launch in 1984.
Previously, Hawker Siddeley had produced a design called the HS.134 'Airbus' in 1965, an evolution of the (formerly DH.121) Trident, which shared much of the general arrangement of the later JET3 study design. The name 'Airbus' at the time referred to a requirement, rather than to the later international programme.
Design effort. Airbus A32X family In June 1977 was set up a new Joint European Transport (JET) programme. It was based at the then (formerly ) site in, UK. Although the members were all of Airbus' partners, they regarded the project as a separate collaboration from Airbus. This project was considered the forerunner of Airbus A320, encompassing the 130- to 188-seat market, powered by two. It would have a cruise speed of Mach 0.84 (faster than Boeing 737). The programme was later transferred to Airbus, leading up to the creation of the Single-Aisle (SA) studies in 1980, led by former leader of JET programme, Derek Brown.
The group looked at three different variants, covering the 125- to 180-seat market, called SA1, SA2 and SA3. Although unaware at the time, the consortium was producing the blueprints for the A319, A320 and A321, respectively. The single-aisle programme created divisions within Airbus about whether to design a shorter-range twinjet than a longer-range quadjet wanted by the West Germans, particularly. However, works proceeded, and the German carrier would eventually order the twinjet. A320-100 in 1991, one of the few A320-100s In February 1981, the project was re-designated A320, with efforts focused on the former SA2. During the year, Airbus worked with on a 150-seat aircraft envisioned and required by the airline.
The A320 would carry 150 passengers over 2,850 or 1,860 (5,280 or 3,440 km) using fuel from wing fuel tanks only. The Dash 200 had centre tank activated, increasing fuel capacity from 15,590 to 23,430 L (3,429 to 5,154 imp gal). They would measure 36.04 and 39.24 m (118 ft 3 in and 128 ft 9 in), respectively. Airbus considered a fuselage diameter of 'the Boeing 707 and 727, or do something better' and settled on a wider cross-section with a 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in) internal width, compared to Boeing's 3.45 m (11 ft 4 in). Although heavier, this allowed to compete more effectively with the 737. The A320 wing went through several stages of design, finally settling on 33.91 m (111 ft 3 in). National shares The UK, France and wanted the responsibility of final assembly and the associated duties, known as 'work-share arguments'.
The Germans requested an increased work-share of 40%, while the British wanted the major responsibilities to be swapped around to give partners production and experience. In the end, British work-share was increased from that of the two previous Airbuses. France was willing to commit to a launch aid, or subsidies, while the Germans were more cautious.
The UK government was unwilling to provide funding for the tooling requested by (BAe) and estimated at 250 million, it was postponed for three years. On 1 March 1984 the government and the manufacturer agreed that ₤50 million would be paid whether the A320 would fly or not, while the rest would be paid as a levy on each aircraft sold.
Launch The programme was launched on 2 March 1984. At this time, Airbus had 96 orders.: 48 was its first customer with a 'letter of intent' for 25 A320s and an option for 25 more at the 1981. In October 1983, placed seven firm order, bringing total orders to more than 80. Became the first to place order for V2500-powered A320s in November 1984, followed by with 16 firm orders and 34 options in January 1985, then.: 49 One of the most significant order was when placed an order for 100 A320s in October 1986, later confirmed at the 1990 Farnborough Airshow, powered by CFM56 engines.: 49–50 During the A320 development programme, Airbus considered technology, backed. At the time unproven, it was essentially a fan placed outside the engine, offering speed of a turbofan at economics; eventually, Airbus stuck with turbofans.
Power on the A320 would be supplied by two -5-A1s rated at 25,000 lbf (112.5 kN). It was the only available engine at launch until the, offered by, a group composed of,. The first V2500 variant, the V2500-A1, has a thrust output of 25,000 (110 ), hence the name. It is 4% more efficient than the CFM56, with cruise for the -A5 at 0.574 and 0.596 lb/lbf/h (16.3 and 16.9 g/kN/s) for the CFM56-5A1. Introduction In presence of then French Prime Minister and the and, the first A320 was rolled out of the final assembly line on 14 February 1987 and made its maiden flight on 22 February in 3 hours and 23 minutes from Toulouse.
The flight test programme took 1,200 hours on 530 flights, European certification was delivered on 26 February 1988.: 50 The first A320 was delivered to Air France on 28 March 1988. Stretching the A320: A321. Main article: The first derivative of the A320 was the, also known as the Stretched A320, A320-500 and A325. Its launch came on 24 November 1988 after commitments for 183 aircraft from 10 customers were secured.
The aircraft would be a minimum-changed derivative, apart from a number of minor modifications to the wing, and the fuselage stretch itself. The wing would incorporate and minor modifications, increasing the wing area from 124 m 2 (1,330 sq ft) to 128 m 2 (1,380 sq ft). The fuselage was lengthened by four plugs (two ahead and two behind the wings), giving the A321 an overall length of 6.94 metres (22 ft 9 in) longer than the A320. The length increase required the overwing exits of the A320 to be enlarged and repositioned in front of and behind the wings. The centre fuselage and were reinforced to accommodate the increase in of 9,600 kg (21,200 lb), taking it to 83,000 kg (183,000 lb). Was the second to receive the stretched A321, after Lufthansa. Final assembly for the A321 would be, as a first for any Airbus, carried out in Germany (then West Germany).
This came after a dispute between the French, who claimed the move would incur $150 million (€135 million) in unnecessary expenditure associated with the new plant, and the Germans, arguing it would be more productive for Airbus in the long run. The second production line was located at, which would also subsequently produce the smaller Airbus A319 and A318. For the first time, Airbus entered the, through which it raised $480 million (€475 million) to finance development costs. An additional $180 million (€175 million) was borrowed from and private investors. The of the Airbus A321 came on 11 March 1993, when the, registration F-WWIA, flew with engines; the second prototype, equipped with CFM56-5B turbofans, flew in May.
Lufthansa and were the first to order the stretched Airbuses, with 20 and 40 aircraft requested, respectively. The first of Lufthansa's V2500-A5-powered A321s arrived on 27 January 1994, while Alitalia received its first CFM56-5B-powered aircraft on 22 March. Shrinking the A320: A319. Main article: The A319 is the next derivative of the baseline A320.
The design is a 'shrink' with its origins in the 130- to 140-seat SA1, part of the Single-Aisle studies. The SA1 was shelved as the consortium concentrated on its bigger siblings. After healthy sales of the A320/A321, Airbus re-focused on what was then known as the A320M-7, meaning A320 minus seven fuselage frames. It would provide direct competition for the /.
The shrink was achieved through the removal of four fuselage frames fore and three aft of the wing, cutting the overall length by 3.73 metres (12 ft 3 in). Consequently, the number of overwing exits was reduced from four to two. The bulk-cargo door was replaced by an aft container door, which can take in reduced height. Minor changes were made to accommodate the different handling characteristics; otherwise the aircraft is largely unchanged. Power is provided by the CFM56-5A or V2500-A5, derated to 98 (22,000 lbf), with option for 105 kN (24,000 lbf) thrust. A A319 in heritage livery.
The A319's wingspan is longer than the aircraft's overall length. Airbus began offering the new model from 22 May 1992, with the actual launch of the $275 million (€250 million) programme occurring on 10 June 1993; the A319's first customer was ILFC, who signed for six aircraft. On 23 March 1995, the first A319 underwent final assembly at Airbus' German plant in Hamburg, where the A321s are also assembled. It was rolled out on 24 August 1995, with the maiden flight the following day. The certification programme would take 350 airborne hours involving two aircraft; certification for the CFM56-5B6/2-equipped variant was granted in April 1996, after which qualification for the V2524-A5 started the following month. Delivery of the first A319, to, took place on 25 April 1996, entering service by month's end.
In January 1997, an A319 broke a record during a delivery flight by flying 3,588 nautical miles (6,645 km) the route to, Manitoba from Hamburg, in 9 hours 5 minutes. The A319 has proved popular with low-cost airlines such as, who has orders for 172, with 172 delivered. Second shrink: A318. An A318 The A318 was born out of mid-1990 studies between (AVIC), and Airbus on a 95- to 125-seat aircraft project. The programme was called the AE31X, and covered the 95-seat AE316 and 115- to 125-seat AE317. The former would have had an overall length of 31.3 m (102 ft 8 in), while the AE317 was longer by 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in), at 34.5 m (113 ft 2 in). The engines were to be supplied from two Rolls-Royce BR715s, CFM56-9s, or the Pratt & Whitney PW6000s; with the MTOW of 53.3 t (118,000 lb) for the smaller version and 58 t (128,000 lb) for the AE317, the thrust requirement were 77.9–84.6 kN (17,500–19,000 lbf) and 84.6–91.2 kN (19,000–20,500 lbf), respectively.
Range was settled at 5,200 km (2,800 nmi) and 5,800 km (3,100 nmi) for the high gross weights of both variants. Both share a wingspan of 31.0 m (101 ft 8 in) and a flight deck similar to that of the A320 family. Costing $2 billion (€1.85 billion) to develop, aircraft production to take place in China. Simultaneously, Airbus was developing Airbus A318.
In early 1998, Airbus revealed its considerations of designing a 100-seat aircraft based on the A320. The AE31X project was terminated by September 1998, after which Airbus officially announced an aircraft of its own, the A318, at that year's Farnborough Airshow. The aircraft is the smallest product of Airbus's product range, and was developed coincidentally at the same time as the largest commercial aircraft in history, the. First called A319M5 in as early as March 1995, it was shorter by 0.79-metre (2 ft 7 in) ahead of the wing and 1.6 metres (5 ft 3 in) behind.
These cuts reduced passenger capacity from 124 on the A319 to 107 passengers in a two-class layout. Range was 5,700 kilometres (3,100 nmi), or 5,950 kilometres (3,210 nmi) with upcoming. The 107-seater was launched on 26 April 1999 with the options and orders count at 109 aircraft. After three years of design, the took place at Hamburg on 15 January 2002. Tests on the lead engine, the, revealed worse-than-expected fuel consumption. Consequently, Pratt & Whitney abandoned the five-stage high pressure compressor (HPC) for the MTU-designed six-stage HPC.
The 129 order book for the A318 shrunk to 80 largely because of switches to other A320 family members. After 17 months of flight certification, during which 850 hours and 350 flights were accumulated, JAA certification was obtained for the CFM56-powered variant on 23 May 2003. On 22 July 2003, first delivery for launch customer occurred, entering service before the end of the month. A320 Enhanced Improvements In 2006, Airbus started the Enhanced (A320E) programme as a series of improvements targeting a 4–5% efficiency gain with large (2%), aerodynamic refinements (1%), weight savings and a new. Engine improvements reducing fuel consumption by 1% were fitted into the A320 in 2007 with the and in 2008 with the.
Sharklets. Wingtip sharklet In 2006, Airbus tested three styles of winglet intended to counteract the wing's and more effectively than the previous wingtip fence. The first design type to be tested was developed by Airbus and was based on work done by the AWIATOR programme. The second type of winglet incorporated a more blended design and was designed by Winglet Technology, a company based in Wichita, Kansas. Two aircraft were used in the flight test evaluation campaign – the prototype A320, which had been retained by Airbus for testing, and a new build aircraft which was fitted with both types of winglets before it was delivered to. Despite the anticipated efficiency gains and development work, Airbus announced that the new winglets will not be offered to customers, claiming that the weight of the modifications required would negate any aerodynamic benefits.
On 17 December 2008, Airbus announced it was to begin flight testing an existing blended winglet design developed by as part of an A320 modernisation programme using the A320 prototype. Airbus launched the sharklet blended during the November 2009: installation adds 200 kg (440 lb) but offers a 3.5% reduction on flights over 2,800 km (1,500 nmi).
They save US$220,000 and 700 t of per aircraft per year. The 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) tall devices are manufactured by Aerospace Division. The winglets increase efficiency by decreasing. In December 2011, Airbus filed suit in the western district of Texas over ' claims of infringement of its on winglet design and construction which were granted in 1993. Airbus' lawsuit seeks to reject responsibility to pay to Aviation Partners for using its designs, despite work performed together with both parties to develop advanced winglets for the A320neo. The first Sharklet-equipped A320 was delivered to on 21 December 2012, offering a 450 kg (990 lb) payload increase or 100 nmi (190 km) longer range at the original payload. Airbus A320 Enhanced economy class with lighting In 2007, Airbus introduced a new enhanced, quieter with better luggage storage and a more modern look and feel, and a new galley reduces weight, increase revenue space and improves ergonomics and design for food hygiene and recycling.
It offers a new with filters and a removing unpleasant smells from the air before it is pumped into the cabin and for ambience lighting. Offering 10% more volume, more shoulder room, a weight reduction, a new and system, noise reduction and slimmer PSU, the enhanced Cabin can be retrofitted. The flight crew controls the cabin through touchscreen displays. New Engine Option. An A320 after takeoff with gears retracted and flaps extended The Airbus A320 family are with a retractable tricycle and are powered by two wing pylon-mounted. After the, Airbus needed to minimise the trip fuel costs of the A320. To that end, it adopted primary structures, control using fueland a two-crew.
Airbus claimed the burns 35% more fuel and has a 16% higher operating cost per seat than the -powered A320. A 150-seat A320 burns 11,608 kg (25,591 lb) of over 2,151 nmi (3,984 km) (between Los Angeles and New York City), or 2.43 L/100 km (97 mpg ‑US) per seat with a 0.8 kg/L fuel. Its wing is long and thin, offering better aerodynamic efficiency because of the higher than the competing 737 and MD-80.
Airframe The Airbus A320 family are low-wing with a conventional with a single. Its is 25 degrees. Compared to other airliners of the same class, the A320 features a wider single-aisle cabin of 3.95 metres (156 in) outside diameter, compared to 3.8 m (148 in) of the or, and larger overhead bins. Its cargo hold can accommodate containers. The A320 includes and to save weight and reduce the total number of parts to decrease the maintenance costs. Its is made almost entirely of such composites by CASA, who also builds the elevators, main landing gear doors, and rear fuselage parts. Flight deck.
The A320 It includes a full rather than the hybrid versions found in previous airliners. The A320's is equipped with (EFIS) with side-stick controllers. The A320 features an (ECAM) which gives the flight crew information about all the systems of the aircraft. The only analogue instruments were the and brake pressure indicator. From 2003, A320's feature liquid crystal display (LCD) units in the flight deck of its A318, A319, A320, and A321 flight decks instead of the original (CRT) displays.
These include the main displays and the backup, which was an analog display prior to this. Airbus offers an avionics upgrade for older A320, the In-Service Enhancement Package, to keep them updated. Digital are available. The A320 retained the dark cockpit (where an indicator is off when its system is running; useful for drawing attention to dysfunctions when an indicator is lit) from the A310, the first widebody designed to be operated without a flight engineer and influenced by, first Airbus CEO 's son. All following Airbuses have similar human/machine interface and systems control philosophy to facilitate cross-type qualification with minimal training; for, former Airbus president, this choice was one of the most difficult he had ever made. Fly-by-wire The A320 is the world's first airliner with digital (FBW): input commands through the are interpreted by flight control computers and transmitted to within the; in the 1980s the computer-controlled dynamic system of the fighter cross-fertilised the Airbus team which tested FBW on an. At its introduction, fly-by-wire and flight envelope protection was a new experience for many pilots.
Early A320s used the. In 1988, the flight management computer contained six CPUs, running in three logical pairs, with 2.5 megabytes of memory.
Engines The suppliers provide engines for the A320 series are with the, offering its, and 's engines available only for the A318. Production. An Airbus A321 on final 3 in the Airbus plant in The final assembly line builds A320s, whereas the final assembly line builds A318s, A319s, and A321s. The Airbus factory in, China assembles A319s, A320s, and A321s; A320s and A321s are also assembled at the Airbus Americas factory in.
Airbus produced 42 A320 per month in 2015, and expects to increase to 50 per month in 2017. As Airbus targets a 60 monthly global production rate by mid-2019, the Tianjin line delivered 51 in 2016 and it could assemble six per month from four as it starts producing A320neos in 2017; 147 Airbus were delivered in 2016 in China, 20% of its production, mostly A320-family, a 47% market share as the country should become the world's largest market ahead of the USA before 2027. In June 2018, along a larger and modernised delivery centre, Airbus inaugurated its fourth Hamburg production line, with two seven-axis to drill 80% of fuselage upper side holes, mobile tooling platforms and following principles. Operational history. A A320 being refueled and loaded with luggage The (JAA) issued the for the A320 on 26 February 1988. After entering the market in March 1988 with Air France and, Airbus then expanded the A320 family rapidly, launching the 185-seat A321 in 1989 and first delivered it in 1994; launching the 124-seat A319 in 1993 and delivering it in 1996; and launching the 107-seat A318 in 1999 with first deliveries in 2003. Competition The A320 family was developed to compete with the Classics (-300/-400/-500) and the McDonnell Douglas MD-80/90 series, and has since faced challenges from the (-600/-700/-800/-900) and the during its two decades in service.
As of 2010, as well as the, the A320 family faces competition from 's (to the A318), and the being developed by to the A318/A319. Airbus has delivered 7,979 A320 series aircraft since their certification/first delivery in early 1988, with another 6,099 on firm order (as of 31 December 2017). In comparison, Boeing has shipped 9,864 737s since late 1967, with 8,358 of those deliveries since March 1988, and has a further 4,668 on firm order (as of 31 December 2017). By September 2018, there were 7,251 ceo aircraft in service versus 6,757, while Airbus should deliver 3,174 compared with 2,999 through 2022.
Airbus sold well the A320 to low-cost startups and offering a choice of engines could make them more attractive to airlines and lessors than the single sourced 737, but CFM engines are extremely reliable. The six month head-start of the A320neo allowed Airbus to rack up 1,000 orders before Boeing announced the MAX. The A321 has outsold the 737-900 three to one, as the A321neo is again dominating the 737-9 MAX, to be joined by the 737-10 MAX. Maintenance are every 750 flight hours and structural inspections are at six- and 12-year intervals. A320-family maintenance should grow from $20.6 billion in 2018, for three quarters on A320s and A321s, to $24.5 billion in 2022. Replacement airliner Airbus was studying a future replacement for the A320 series, tentatively dubbed, for 'New Short-Range aircraft'. The follow-on aircraft to replace the A320 was named A3XX.
Airbus North America President Barry Eccleston states that the earliest the aircraft could be available is 2017. In January 2010, Airbus's chief operating officer-customers, stated that an all-new single-aisle aircraft is unlikely to be constructed before 2024/2025. Variants. For the Airbus A320neo or New Engine Option variants, see.
Airbus A320 variants code Model(s) A318 A318 A319 A319 A320 A320 A321 A321 Overview The baseline A320 has given rise to a family of aircraft which share a common design but with passenger capacity ranges from 100, on the A318, to 220, on the A321. They compete with the,.
Because the four variants share the same flight deck, all have the same pilot. Today all variants are available as. An A319 variant known as is also developed. Military version like also exists.
Is the world's largest airline operator of the A320 family of aircraft with 392 aircraft in service as of 30 September 2017. Technically, the name 'A320' only refers to the original mid-sized aircraft, but it is often informally used to indicate any of the A318/A319/A320/A321 family. All variants are able to be (Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards) certified for since 2004 and 2006. With launch of the new Airbus A320neo project, the previous members of the Airbus A320 family received the 'current engine option' or 'CEO' name. Was the launch customer of the Airbus A320. The A320 series has two variants, the A320-100 and A320-200.
Only 21 A320-100s were produced. These aircraft, the first to be manufactured, were delivered to – later acquired by – and as a result of an order from made prior to its acquisition. The primary changes of the -200 over the -100 are and increased fuel capacity for increased range. Used its first 31 A320-200s with double- main for airfields with poor runway condition which a single-bogie main gear could not manage. Powered by two -5s or with thrust ratings of 98–120 kN (22,000–27,000 lbf), its typical range with 150 passengers is 3,300 nmi / 6,100 km. A total of 4,512 of the A320ceo model have been delivered, with 220 remaining on order as of 30 September 2017. The closest Boeing competitor is the.
An Airbus A321 As the A320 began operations in 1988, the A321 was launched as its first derivative. The A321 fuselage is stretched by 6.93 metres (22 ft 9 in) with a 4.27 m (14 ft 0 in) front plug immediately forward of wing and a 2.67 m (8 ft 9 in) rear plug.
The A321-100 maximum takeoff weight is increased by 9,600 kg (21,200 lb) to 83,000 kg (183,000 lb). To maintain performance, double-slotted flaps were included, in addition to increasing the wing area by 4 m 2 (43 sq ft), to 128 m 2 (1,380 sq ft). The maiden flight of the first of two prototypes came on 11 March 1993. The A321-100 entered service in January 1994 with Lufthansa.
As the A321-100 range was reduced compared to the A320, the heavier and longer range A321-200 development was launched in 1995. This is achieved through higher thrust engines (V2533-A5 or CFM56-5B3), minor structural strengthening, and an increase in fuel capacity with the installation of one or two optional 2,990 L (790 US gal) tanks in the rear underfloor hold. Its fuel capacity is increased to 30,030 L (7,930 US gal) and its maximum takeoff weight to 93,000 kg (205,000 lb). It first flew in December 1996 and entered service with in April 1997. Its closest Boeing competitors are the, and the.
A total of 1,562 of the A321ceo model have been delivered, with 231 remaining on order as of 30 September 2017. A Airbus A319 The A319 is a shortened, minimum-change version of the A320. Also known as the A320M-7, it is 3.73 metres (12 ft 3 in) shorter than the A320; four frames fore of the wing and three frames aft of the wing were removed. The reduced seating reduces the emergency exits to six. With virtually the same fuel capacity as the A320-200, and fewer passengers, the range with 124 passengers in a two-class configuration extends to 6,650 km (3,590 nmi), or 6,850 km (3,700 nmi) with the 'Sharklets'. Four propulsion options available on the A319 are the 23,040-pound-force (102.5 kN) V2522-A5 and 24,800-pound-force (110 kN) V2527M-A5 from IAE, or the 22,000-pound-force (98 kN) CFM56-5B/A and 27,000-pound-force (120 kN) CFM56-5B7.
Although identical to those of the A320, these engines are derated because of the A319's lower MTOW. The A319 was developed at the request of, the former president and CEO of according to. The A319's launch customer, in fact, was ILFC, which had placed an order for six A319s by 1993.
Anticipating further orders by Swissair and Alitalia, Airbus decided to launch the programme on 10 June 1993. Final assembly of the first A319 began on 23 March 1995 and it was first introduced with Swissair in April 1996. The direct competitor is the. A total of 1,460 of the A319ceo model have been delivered, with 24 remaining on order as of 30 September 2017. A318 The A319CJ (rebranded ACJ319) is the corporate jet version of the A319. It incorporates removable extra fuel tanks (up to 6 Additional Center Tanks) which are installed in the cargo compartment, and an increased service ceiling of 12,500 m (41,000 ft).
Range with eight passengers' payload and auxiliary fuel tanks (ACTs) is up to 6,000 nautical miles (11,100 km). Upon resale, the aircraft can be reconfigured as a standard A319 by removing its extra tanks and corporate cabin outfit, thus maximising its resale value. It was formerly also known as the ACJ, or, while starting with 2014 it has the marketing designation ACJ319. The aircraft seats up to 39 passengers, but may be outfitted by the customers into any configuration.
Tyrolean Jet Service Mfg. GmbH & CO KG, and are among its users. The A319CJ competes with other ultralarge-cabin corporate jets such as the Boeing -based (BBJ) and, as well as with large-cabin and ultralong-range, and 's.
It is powered by the same engine types as the A320. The A319CJ was used by the which is in charge of transportation for France's officials and also by the Flugbereitschaft of the for transportation of Germany's officials. An ACJ serves as a presidential or official aircraft of,. Main article: The Airbus A318 is the smallest member of the Airbus A320 family. The A318 carries up to 132 passengers and has a maximum range of 3,100 nmi (5,700 km; 3,600 mi).
The aircraft entered service in July 2003 with Frontier Airlines, and shares a common type rating with all other Airbus A320 family variants, allowing existing A320 family pilots to fly the aircraft without the need for further training. It is the largest commercial aircraft certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency for steep approach operations, allowing flights at airports such as.
Relative to other Airbus A320 family variants, the A318 has sold in only small numbers with total orders for only 80 aircraft placed as of 31 October 2015. Freighter A programme to convert A320 and A321 aircraft into freighters was set up by Airbus Freighter Conversion GmbH. Airframes would be converted by in, Germany, and, Russia. The launch customer signed a firm contract on 16 July 2008 to convert 30 of AerCap's passenger A320/A321s into A320/A321P2F (passenger to freighter). However, on 3 June 2011, Airbus announced all partners would end the passenger to freighter programme, citing high demand for used airframes for passenger service.
On 17 June 2015, signed agreements with Airbus and for a collaboration to launch the A320/A321 passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversion programme. Operators. See also: By December 2018, the backlog fell to 193: 14 A319s, 85 A320s and 94 A321s; as Airbus delivered 213 A320ceo variants over the first 11 months of 2018 compared to 320 A320neos variant. Main article: For the entire A320 family, 118 have occurred (the last one being on 23 December 2016), including 35 accidents (the last one being on 19 May 2016), and a total of 1393 fatalities (the last one aboard on 19 May 2016). On 26 June 1988, crashed into trees at the end of runway at, three out of 130 passengers were killed. In February 1990 another A320, crash landed short of the airport runway in, the ensuing fire contributed to the casualty count of ninety-two, out of 146 on board.
The press and media later questioned the fly-by-wire flight control system but subsequent investigations by commission of inquiry found 'no malfunction of the aircraft or its equipment which could have contributed towards a reduction in safety or an increase in the crew's workload during the final flight phase. The response of the engines was normal and in compliance with certification requirement'.
It has seen fifty incidents where several flight displays were lost. Through 2015, the Airbus A320 family has experienced 0.12 fatal hull-loss accidents for every million takeoffs, and 0.26 total hull-loss accidents for every million takeoffs. Specifications Subtype A318 A319 A320 A321 Cockpit crew 2 Exit limit / 136 160 195/190 230 1-class max.
Recently Airbus presented its lastest projects A330neo and A320neo. I'm sincerely surprised about the cockpit, in that it is essentially the same of the original A330, while I was expecting that renovation would affect not only the engines, installations, and lights but also the cockpit instrumentation taking inspiration from the new bigger screens of the A350. I know that in this way the training for pilots is much easier, but at the same time I think that if a new cockpit is developed for a new plane (taking into consideration that 'Type Rating' is anyway considered the same), it should be because of more safety, readability, and situational awareness. In the past Boeing completely updated its cockpit inside the B747-400 and B737NG models from the original mechanical/analog gauges to the new glass cockpit. In those cases, surely the necessary training was very hard for pilots so, why not now for minor updates? The short answer is that it's what the market wanted.
There is always a lot of discussions between the airlines and manufacturer's before Airbus or Boeing commits to building a new aircraft. In this case both Boeing and Airbus came to the same decision - the airlines were being driven by one single factor to replace their A320 or B737 fleets, they just wanted to reduce fuel expenses. That's why the Airbus is the 'neo' new engine option. The airlines made it clear that any new aircraft purchases would be based on operational savings and that's primarily driven by fuel burn and the resulting costs.
The solution to that is a new engine. Putting in a new flight deck is a huge expense for the manufacturers which would drive costs up and the airlines won't pay extra for something that doesn't save them money. There's no cost benefit to a new flight deck, especially when (as others noted) you have a huge investment in an existing fleet. In fact, all it's likely to do is add costs. With a new flight deck you'll have a huge increase in maintenance and spares costs due to the need for stocking more parts with new part numbers (just adding a part number to a logistics system costs significant money.) You'll also need new crew training simulators due to the different displays and controls, whereas the neo option can be handled with software upgrades. And if it drives a need for new type ratings, that would mean more training costs and making sure you have the crews with the right rating at the right time. In my experience in 20 years dealing with this market, airlines only spend money for two reasons:.
It will increase their profit margins. The FAA (or other regulatory agency) mandates that they have it.
Aside from that, you should consider Airbus' side. They're trying to sell airplanes and they have to compete with Boeing. Since the avionics architecture is quite different between the A320/A330 and the A350, moving to it would add huge costs and a couple years delay in entry into service. They also have to deal with the fact that airlines don't want to see a big price increase. Prices for the A320neo and B737MAX are not significantly higher than the current/older versions. If the competition can offer a 7 to 9% reduction in fuel burn for approximately current prices, spending an extra 2 or 3 years to match that with a new flight deck means a lot of lost sales in the interim.
And you probably won't make enough margin to recoup the new flight deck costs. To add to Gerry's answer (and this will be slightly too long for a comment), there is a huge disadvantage to drastically changing the cockpit when going from an A320 to the A320 NEO or from a B737-300 to the B737-700, or 737 NG to 737 Max, and that has to do with the existing fleets. If you keep the cockpit basically the same and just add what new switches are needed for the new engines, then most if not all operators can qualify their pilots in both models, and integrate the new arrivals into the fleet with minimal disruption. Need to substitute a NEO for a standard 320? No big deal, the same crew can fly either one. If the cockpits are wildly different, then the new jet is essentially a different type rating, and the pilots will have to be qualified ( Edit: 'qualified' in the airline sense - current & qualified, not just type-rated) in one or the other, but not both at the same time.
So when you substitute an aircraft, you have to change out the crew as well. That adds up to a lot of overhead, training costs, and scheduling inefficiencies. In the case of the A-350, it IS a whole new aircraft, and nobody would be qualified in it at the same time as the A-330 or A-320, so there's no great need for backward compatibility. But in the case of the A-320 NEO, keeping commonality with the existing A-320 fleet so that pilots aren't restricted to one or the other is a big deal.
Now, I can just hear the objections. You said 'B737-300 to B737-700 - that's steam gauges to glass!' Yeah, sort of. BUT: Boeing 'dumbed down' the 737 NG cockpit tremendously compared to what it could have been so that operators of the 737 classics could keep their pilots qualified on both the classic and the NG simultaneously.
There was the '6-pack under glass' option for the NG displays, which made the NG display look like round dials, so that pilots used to the Classics had reasonably similar displays when they flew the NG. Less noticeable but still important, the overhead panel and the automation of the NG's was kept essentially the same as the classics, even though advances in automation would have enabled a FAR more modern approach to nearly every system in the aircraft and their management. The option to digitally display round dials -. Another image - showing how even the engine instruments were not much more than digital depictions of the round dials:. Consider: the 737 NG is a more recent design than the 777, but the 777 aircraft in 1996 had automation light years beyond what even the 737 Max rolling out this year has. The overhead in the Max looks essentially identical to the overhead in the NG, very very close to the overhead in the Classic, and not dramatically different from the overhead panel of the 737-200 from the late 1960's!
So that airlines never had to segment their crews. If the 737 Max were being rolled out 'in a vacuum' today, its cockpit would look a lot more like the 787's - which was mostly a 'clean sheet' design (some commonality with the 777 flight deck). As was the A-350 - clean sheet of paper. But the B-737 Max and the A-320 NEO aren't 'clean sheet' designs and keep significant commonality with their predecessors, because that's what the airlines insist on. For better or for worse.
Not trying to imply that the same pilot couldn't be qualified on all versions of the A320 at all - quite the reverse! As to the 320/330/350, the type ratings would all still be there, but in practice airlines don't tend to keep pilots current on multiple types, so an individual would, at any one time, be either 'an A320 pilot' or 'an A350 pilot', but not both.
Of course, having been thru the course in the past, training would be quicker to go back into it & there'd be no need for a type-rating checkride. But 'current+qualified' on multiple types at once is rare-to-never for most airlines. – Mar 10 '17 at 17:19. Edited to incorporate that. For an airline, if you aren't current in whatever, then today you aren't qualified to fly it for them. A pilot who flew the 737 two years ago but is now flying the 777 may be 'qualified' to fly the 737 in the FAA eyes for Part 91, but for his airline, no, he isn't, and they wouldn't put him in that airplane to fly it under any circumstances. As I mentioned, the requal training would be shorter than an initial course if he went back to the 737, but it would absolutely be re-QUALIFICATION in the aircraft as far as the airline was concerned.
– Mar 10 '17 at 18:32. The short answer is money.
The B747-400 and B737-NG are indeed very different airplanes from their predecessors. So much so that they were deemed different type ratings. Getting a new type rating for pilots at an airline is a much more rigorous task, and expensive. Consider the administration overhead, to add the necessary Ops.
SPECS, Aircraft Operations Manuals, etc. And have these all approved by the FAA or equivalent, and add in mechanic retraining and certification and you've got a huge investment. The NEO engines and the planes themselves are a little different operationally. I fly them at work sometimes. But their not so different as to require a new type rating. The differences training we went through was a basic slide show, memorizing some new numbers, a handout of differences and a pretty basic test. All standard for differences training.
No special or sim training was required. Even the mechanics just have written material to read through for the new engines. Huge cost difference. Bottom line, the airlines get the huge fuel savings and no required costs for retraining folks.