Tag: a320 (Page 3 of 15)

Jet2.com Orders 36 A321neos, Becoming a New Airbus Customer

September 1, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Jet2.com has placed an initial order for 36 A321neo’s. The Leeds, United Kingdom, based airline is a new Airbus (OTC: EADSY) customer, as well as new to the Airbus A320neo family. The order reflects Jet2.com’s ambitious fleet expansion and renewal plans. Engine selection will be made at a later date.

The aircraft will be configured for 232 seats with an Airspace cabin featuring innovative lighting, new seating products and 60 percent larger overhead baggage bins for added personal storage.

The A320neo Family incorporates the latest technologies, including new generation engines and Sharklets, delivering a 20 per cent reduction in fuel consumption per seat. With an additional range of up to 500 nautical miles/900 km. or two tonnes of extra payload, the A321neo will deliver Jet2.com with additional revenue potential.

At the end of July 2021, the A320neo Family had won over 7,400 firm orders from over 120 customers worldwide.

Spirit AeroSystems Europe Delivers First Set of A320 Family RTM Spoilers

August 31, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Prestwick, Scotland, Business Wire, Spirit AeroSystems (Europe) Limited (UK), a subsidiary of Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. [NYSE: SPR], has successfully delivered the first set of new advanced composite spoilers to Airbus for the A320 Family. The spoilers are produced using Spirit’s pioneering Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM) technology and are the first to feature on a flying aircraft.

The redesigned spoiler is produced using a highly-automated advanced manufacturing, out-of-autoclave process, resulting in significantly improved manufacturing efficiencies, and reduced energy and costs compared to the original, more traditional design. Spirit is the first to industrialize this innovative composite technology in the UK aerospace sector.

The spoilers are produced in Spirit’s world-class manufacturing facility in Prestwick, Scotland, using the latest automation and robotics, which included investment from the Scottish Government in the development of the technology. Such cost-effective technologies and manufacturing processes will play a central role in the development of the next generation of aircraft programs, and help Spirit increase its competitive advantage in advanced manufacturing.

Collins Enhanced Vision Sensor Selected for Airbus Family of Aircraft

August 11, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Collins Aerospace’s next-generation Enhanced Vision Sensor has been selected to be integrated into Airbus’ Enhanced Flight Vision System (EFVS). EFVS will become a selectable option on Airbus commercial aircraft, expanding approach capability and increasing flight situational awareness during reduced visibility conditions. The EFVS option, with the Collins EVS sensor, will be offered first on the A320 aircraft, with the intention to offer this solution on other platforms in the future.

The EFVS will use input from the Collins Aerospace sensor, mounted on the nose of the aircraft, to create an augmented reality view of the outside world. The sensor uses multiple infrared and visible light cameras to “see through” poor visibility conditions better than the human eye. When the pilots view this camera video on head-up displays, it allows them to better identify the runway environment in all weather conditions — helping pilots overcome many flight disruptions often created by fog or precipitation. In addition, because the technology enables pilots to reduce delays on the runway and in the air, it actively reduces the amount of carbon emissions created by the aircraft.

In addition, EFVS will also ease instrument to visual transition and provide enhanced situational awareness, in particular for “night Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC)” conditions, and/or terrain, as well as lateral alignment on the runway, traffic and runway surface identification.

The next-generation EVS sensor will also be available for retrofit on existing in-service Airbus aircraft.

Airbus Delivers First A350 From China Widebody Completion and Delivery Center

July 23, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Airbus has delivered the first A350 from its widebody completion & delivery centre in Tianjin (C&DC), China, taking additional steps in the expansion of its global footprint and long-term strategic partnership with China.

The A350-900 aircraft was delivered to China Eastern Airlines, the largest Airbus operator in Asia and second largest in the world. At the end of June 2021, China Eastern Airlines operated an Airbus fleet of 413 aircraft, including 349 A320 Family aircraft, 55 A330 Family aircraft and nine A350 aircraft.

Located at the same site as the Airbus Tianjin A320 Family Final Assembly Line and the Airbus Tianjin Delivery Centre, the widebody C&DC covers the aircraft completion activities, including cabin installation, aircraft painting and production flight test, as well as customer flight acceptance and aircraft delivery.

The centre was inaugurated in September 2017 with its capability on A330s. Then, during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to China in 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding on the Further Development of Industrial Cooperation was signed in Beijing by He Lifeng, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China, and Guillaume Faury, Airbus Chief Executive Officer, announcing the C&DC would extend its capability to A350 aircraft.

The A350 features the latest aerodynamic design, a carbon-fibre fuselage and wings, plus new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce engines. Together, these features translate into unrivalled levels of operational efficiency with a 25 per cent reduction in fuel burn and CO₂ emissions. The A350’s ‘Airspace by Airbus’ cabin is the quietest of any widebody aircraft and offers passengers and crews the most modern in-flight products for the most comfortable flying experience.

At the end of June 2021, the A350 Family had received 915 firm orders from 49 customers worldwide, making it one of the most successful widebody aircraft ever.

Flyadeal Receives First New Airbus A320neo

July 16, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Toulouse, France 16 July 2021 – flyadeal, the low-cost Jeddah-based airline owned by Saudi Arabian Airlines, has taken delivery of a brand new A320neo, the first out of 30 to be delivered in the next 3 years.

The aircraft is the first out of 65 A320neo family aircraft ordered by Saudi Arabian Airlines at the Paris Airshow in 2019, and will join flyadeal’s all Airbus fleet.

Powered by CFM LEAP-1A engines, the A320neo will offer flyadeal outstanding operational, economic and environmental performance.

flyadeal’s A320neo is configured with 186 seats in a comfortable all economy class layout. Passengers onboard the aircraft will benefit from the widest cabin of any single-aisle aircraft in the sky, as well as the latest cabin feature offering optimum passenger comfort.

The A320neo is the ideal aircraft for flyadeal to grow and expand its domestic and regional network. Demonstrating the operational flexibility of the A320neo, the aircraft will allow the airline to efficiently enhance its operations to additional networks and foster closer links with countries across the region and beyond.

The A320neo Family incorporates the very latest technologies including new generation engines, Sharklets and aerodynamics, which together deliver 20% in fuel savings and CO2 reduction compared to previous generation Airbus aircraft. The A320neo Family has received more than 7,400 orders from over 120 customers.

Cathay Pacific and HK Express Select Airbus Flight Hour Services to Support A320 Fleets

June 22, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Cathay Pacific Airways and HK Express have signed contracts for Airbus’s Flight Hour Services (FHS) to provide support for their A320 Family fleets. These extend the service relationship with Cathay Pacific and welcome HK Express as a new FHS customer.

The multi-year, maintenance-by-the-hour contracts cover integrated component services, including on-site stock, pool access, and repair services. The airlines will also benefit from Airbus’s engineering expertise and FHS local representatives in Hong Kong.

Airbus has finalised 11 FHS contracts with operators worldwide over the last six months. The latest contract agreements demonstrate the continued interest in Airbus’s integrated maintenance service, proving more relevant than ever in post-crisis times when airlines need to carefully monitor their costs and contain investments.

Qantas and Jetstar Meet Strong Domestic Demand with More Aircraft and Flights

June 20, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

The Qantas Group is preparing for continued growth in domestic travel demand, with additional aircraft to be made available for Qantas and Jetstar flying.

Additional E190’s for QantasLink

The national carrier today announced an expansion of its three-year deal with Alliance Airlines, which provides QantasLink with capacity using Alliance’s Embraer E190 regional jet aircraft and the flexibility to respond to changing market conditions.

The expanded agreement will see the airline increase its options under this deal from 14 jet aircraft to a total of 18. Of this, three are already flying with another five to enter service by October. The E190s will be painted in QantasLink livery and are part of Qantas growing its domestic capacity to at least 107 per cent of pre-COVID levels in FY22.

The first of the 94-seat E190 jets started flying on the QantasLink network last month. The jet’s five-hour range makes it well suited to linking regional centres with smaller capital cities. The introduction of E190s also frees up Qantas’ Boeing 737 aircraft to be redeployed across the domestic network, enabling the airline to launch a number of new routes and add frequencies on existing ones.

Canberra-Adelaide is the latest route to benefit from additional flights made possible by the E190, with frequencies to double from nine per week to 18 per week from mid-July.

Jetstar boosts its Australian-based A320 fleet

Demand for low-cost leisure travel remains strong due to closed international borders and structural changes in Australia’s aviation market. As a result, Jetstar’s Australian domestic network is set to grow to 120 per cent of its pre-COVID schedule in FY22.

To help meet the increased demand, three Airbus A320 aircraft will be temporarily redeployed from Jetstar Asia in Singapore while international travel in the region faces a slower recovery.

These aircraft join the six Airbus A320 aircraft on loan to Jetstar Airways from Jetstar Japan and up to five Boeing 787-8 aircraft set to operate domestically until international travel resumes.

Air New Zealand to Establish New Crew Base in Brisbane Australia

June 10, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Air New Zealand has extended its agreement with the Australian Government to operate flights between Norfolk Island and Australia from 30 August 2021 until the end of August 2023.

Under the agreement, Air New Zealand will use its A320 aircraft to operate up to three flights per week from Brisbane and three flights from Sydney.

Air New Zealand Chief Operating Officer Carrie Hurihanganui says the airline will establish a temporary pilot and cabin crew base in Brisbane until 30 November to ensure potential disruptions to the travel bubble will not affect continuity of services to Norfolk Island.

Flight number	Departure airport	Arrival airport	Departure time	Arrival time	Day of week
NZ914	Brisbane	Norfolk Island	10.15am	1.30pm	Monday, Thursday, Saturday
NZ915	Norfolk Island	Brisbane	2.40pm	4.05pm	Tuesday, Friday, Saturday
NZ912	Sydney	Norfolk Island	9.55am	1.35pm	Tuesday, Friday, Saturday
NZ913	Norfolk Island	Sydney	4.30pm	4.30pm	Monday, Thursday, Saturday

Collins Aerospace to Providing Passenger Service Units for Airbus A320 Family Airspace Cabin

June 6, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Collins Aerospace, a unit of Raytheon Technologies Corp. (NYSE: RTX), has been selected by Airbus (OTC: EADSY) to supply upgraded passenger service units (PSU) for the delivery of the new A320 Family Airspace cabin. The advanced architecture and sleek new design fits seamlessly within the new Airspace cabin, supporting a consistent passenger experience across the family of aircraft.

The advanced composite materials of the Collins PSU provide the strength and durability needed to handle each passenger touchpoint, including reading lights, air outlet valves and call attendant lights. The modular design is easily adjustable for a variety of seat pitches, enabling simple installation and removal.

Collins has supplied PSUs for the A320 family of aircraft for more than two decades and is actively working with Airbus to explore future developments and to improve the already outstanding performance of the new passenger service units.

Rolls-Royce Testing Most Powerful Hybrid-Electric Propulsion System

June 5, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Rolls-Royce has started testing the first elements of the most powerful hybrid-electric aero power and propulsion system in aerospace at a newly-renovated testbed. The tests are part of the 2.5 megawatt (MW) Power Generation System 1 (PGS1) demonstrator programme, for future regional aircraft.

Rolls-Royce has begun testing the AE2100 engine element and specialist controls and thermal management system, supported by a system integration generator, at our Testbed 108 in Bristol, UK.

Later this year a fully operational generator and a 3,000-volt power electronics system, currently completing testing at our facility in Trondheim, Norway, will be brought together to start full PGS1 system testing. The generator can be used either for hybrid-electric propulsion systems or as part of a “more-electric” system for larger aircraft.

PGS1 forms an important element of our sustainability strategy, which includes developing innovative electrical power and propulsion systems, as well as further improving gas turbine performance and promoting the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels.

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