A320neo: Leaping into fuel efficiency

Airbus new fuel-saving engine delivers up to 15 percent reduction in fuel consumption

Airbus closed 2010 with the much-anticipated announcement to offer a new fuel-saving engine as an option for its best-selling A320 Family. Known as the A320neo, the new engine option will also incorporate fuel-saving large wing tip devices called Sharklets.

Expected to start deliveries in the spring of 2016, the A320neo will deliver fuel savings of 15% in average, up to 17% on the longest sectors. Based on increasing fuel prices forecasted by economists, the A320neo is expected to deliver a substantial cost saving advantage of up to $12 million per aircraft in NPV (Net Present Value) over 15 years.

The A320neo will also offer up to 500nm (950 km) more range or two tonnes more payload.

A320neo customers will also benefit from a dramatic improvement in eco-friendliness: 3,600 tonnes of CO2 saved per A320neo per year, a double-digit reduction in NOx emissions and further reduced engine noise.

The A320neo will provide airlines with a choice between CFM International’s LEAP-X engine and Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1100G engine.
Available on the A321, A320 and A319 models, the new engine option offers airlines a new range of possibilities in the Latin American region, such as connecting new city pairs, i.e., Santiago (SCL) – Cancun (CUN) or Salvador (SAL) - Sao Paulo (GRU) , or achieving new levels of competitiveness (a 20% fuel advantage over the competition). For Airlines in the region that compete predominantly with single-aisle aircraft, the A320neo is surely more than enough to change the game out there.

Nothing like this has been offered in the single-aisle market in the last 20 years; it is surely an opportunity not to miss.