News
Airbus delivers first A320neo, announces order book changes
January 22nd 2016
Airbus on Wednesday quietly delivered the first A320neo to launch customer, Lufthansa, following a delay from the re-engined narrowbody’s planned end-of-2015 delivery schedule. Read More » The neo delivers 15% fuel-savings over the A320ceo, increasing to 20% by 2020.
The Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-powered A320neo was certified in November, but in December launch customer Qatar Airways stepped back as the planned first operator because of engine-related operational restrictions. The A320neo’s service entry with Lufthansa will mark the service entry of Pratt’s geared turbofan family of engines. CFM International’s LEAP-1A is also an engine option for the A320neo and will be available from the second or third quarter.
“Handing over the first A320neo to a leading airline and long standing Airbus customer, Lufthansa, is a truly great day for everyone at Airbus,” Airbus CEO, Fabrice Brégier, said at the handover ceremony. “This occasion marks a new step forward to delivering on our promises and meeting our industry’s goal for sustainable aviation.” Lufthansa has so far ordered 116 A320neo family aircraft. The next deliveries will be to Qatar Airways, followed by India’s IndiGo.
Airbus has disclosed several changes to its order book. New orders registered in December included an A320ceo for Air New Zealand and an A319neo ordered by a private customer. Cancellations included an A380 and eight A320neos destined for the defunct Transaero Airlines. The Russian carrier’s three other A380s have been transferred to an entity known only as "Air Accord". LATAM Airlines Group converted four A350-900s for TAM Linhas Aéreas to A350-1000s, while British Airways and MEA - Middle East Airlines switched three and four A320neos to A321neos, respectively.
Commenting on the faltering Chinese economy, Brégier said he was confident the Asian market would remain strong despite recent falls in the Mainland stock market. "The vision that you have that the share price drops by 10% or 15% and everything collapses is in fact disconnected from at least what I call the real economy, which is that we have a population in China and in Southeast Asia who become part of the middle class and want to travel," he said. "There is a strong aspiration to travel. And travelling by plane is pretty cheap. So these are the two elements about why we believe it will continue to grow."
Brégier said he was not concerned by the dropping oil price, saying demand for more-efficient, “greener” variants will persevere. "The airlines are performing extremely well," he said. "The low fuel price helps them prepare for the future. They know there is volatility in the fuel price. They don't expect the oil price will remain around $35 or $40 a barrel forever so they are preparing for the new generation [of aircraft]."
