Airbus delivered today its 7,000th aircraft, an A321, to US Airways – the airline that operates the largest fleet of Airbus aircraft in the world – from the Airbus facility in Hamburg, Germany. This milestone comes just two years after the delivery of Airbus’ 6,000th aircraft which underlines the continued vibrancy of the commercial aviation sector and the market’s clear vote for eco-efficient aircraft.

The 1,000th Airbus delivery was an A340-300 that went to Air France in 1993, nineteen years after the first Airbus aircraft was delivered – an A300B2 also to Air France, in 1974. The 2,000th delivery was six years later in 1999. It took half that time, just three years, to get to the 3,000th delivery in 2002 and three more years to reach 4,000 deliveries. The tempo went up another notch taking Airbus only two years to hand over its 5,000th aircraft, an A330-200 to Qantas in December 2007. The 6,000th Airbus was an A380 which was delivered to Emirates in January 2010.

“It’s particularly fitting that our 7,000th aircraft is an A321 going to US Airways. The airline not only operates the largest fleet of Airbus aircraft in the world; with over 220 A320 Family aircraft flying in US Airways colours today, they also operate the largest fleet of our best-selling, eco-efficient A320 Family,” said Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO. “This milestone is a tribute to the hard work and commitment of Airbus teams around the world. We have improved efficiencies company-wide and this has enabled us to deliver record numbers of latest generation aircraft at continually increasing rates, with an environmental footprint ever decreasing.”

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The Airbus A320 NEO (New Engine Option) is a premium replacement for the Airbus A320.   A decision on the development of the aircraft is still pending EADS board approval which should come towards the end of the year.  The aircraft will not be a new design but instead will feature enhancements including:

• A choice of engines
• Winglets or sharklets as Airbus likes to call them
• New engine pylons
• Strengthened landing gear
• Strengthened outer wingbox
• New aluminum alloys borrowed from the A380

The engines are the main enhancement and there are two choices. One is the geared turbofan (GTF), a new type of jet engine from Pratt & Whitney, part of America’s United Technologies group. This engine uses a gearbox to allow the fan at the front and the turbine at the back to run at different, but optimal speeds. This, it is claimed, results in fuel savings of up to a fifth. The other engine is the Leap X, from CFM International, a joint venture between America’s General Electric and France’s Safran. It uses composites to reduce the weight of the engine.

If Airbus opts to go ahead with an A320 re-engineering program, it will price the so-called A320 family New Engine Option (NEO) with a premium of $7-8 million – or one-half the net present value of the 15% fuel savings the aircraft would deliver over today’s generation of A320s and Boeing 737s, says chief salesman John Leahy.

Checkout a new site dedicated to the Airbus A320 NEO.   www.A320NEO.com

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An Airbus’ decision on whether to upgrade its A320 jet family hinges on whether it can put enough engineers on the project, rather than on costs, parent EADS’  chief executive told a German newspaper.  He said the company was not considering developing a new aircraft model.

“We believe that we can reduce fuel consumption by 12 to 15 percent with new engines and new wing tips. A completely new plane could gain a few more percent, but the development is ten times as expensive,” the CEO  said.

A decision on the upgrade should be announced shortly.

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Airbus announced on Sunday at the Dubai Airshow that it would offer winglets for its A320 family aircraft starting with an order from Air New Zealand in 2012 that would improve fuel burn by 3.5%.

Boeing first introduced winglets on its Boeing Business Jet in 1998 and commercially in 2001.

Airbus claims that its new “sharklet” A320 winglets will best Boeing’s 737-800 in relative fuel burn by about 9%.

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The first Airbus A320 aircraft to be assembled in China enters into service with Sichuan Airlines today after being delivered to owner Dragon Aviation Leasing on Tuesday.

The plant at Tianjin that is the first A320 assembly plant outside Toulouse, France. It is a joint-venture between Airbus, the Tianjin Free Trade Zone and state-owned China Aviation Industry (AVIC). It will deliver the second aircraft in July and Airbus expects to produce 10 A320s by end-2009. The production rate is expected to be ramped up to four a month before end-2011.

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The first Chinese-assembled Airbus A320 completed its first flight today at 14:56 local time.

The aircraft took off from Tianjin airport at precisely 10:42 and landed back at the airport four hours and 14 minutes later at 14:56.

(Image courtesy Airbus)

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Airbus‘ new A320 assembly plant in China has already produced two aircraft and is on track to deliver its first before the end of June as scheduled.

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Planes can float, but the US Airways Airbus A-320 that crashed into the Hudson River Thursday had a better chance than most.

That’s because it was equipped with a special device unique to Airbus planes that increased the likelihood it would stay on top of the water.

The device, called a “ditching switch,” effectively seals the plane by closing valves and ventilation ports, a spokesman for the airline said.

Industry experts said the ditching switch is rarely invoked, as “it’s not as if anyone expects to ditch these planes,” said Robert W. Mann, who owns a Port Washington-based aviation consulting company.

With the valves and ports shut, “a float line” is created, Airbus spokeswoman Mary Anne Greczyn said in an e-mail.

“The ditching switch closes all of the open ports in the bottom of the fuselage,” said Frank Ayers, chairman of the flight training department at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Mann said opening an emergency exit – which happened yesterday when the plane was evacuated – is not a problem as long as the door is above the waterline.

Peter R. Leffe, an aviation accident investigator in Malibu, Calif., noted that because airplanes in general are pressurized, they have some ability to float, providing they don’t break up when they hit water.

“The airplane is a pressure vessel,” he said. “It can float as long as water doesn’t leak in.”

But airplanes can’t float forever.

Water will eventually find a way to seep in, and the airplane’s weight will drive it to the bottom.

“They’re not amphibious,” Mann said. “But the general rule of thumb is, when they’re full of fuel, which is lighter than water, they will float, as long as their structural integrity is intact.”

There are about 2,000 A-320 Airbuses worldwide, 425 of which are in North America, Greczyn said.

The planes, which debuted in 1988, typically seat 150 passengers and are the most popular Airbuses, she said.

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Airbus is preparing to relaunch flight-testing of winglets on the A320, following an agreement with US specialist Aviation Partners (API) to carry out trials.

After an abortive evaluation two years ago of an in-house design and one developed by Winglet Technology of the USA, Airbus revealed in May that it intended to re-examine the concept in conjunction with Boeing’s long-established supplier API. These tests were originally due to start in July, but will now get under way imminently, says the airframer.

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Airbus secured net orders for 1,341 aircraft during 2007, giving the European manufacturer a 48.7% share of the market.

It declared its total at a press briefing in Toulouse today, where it also disclosed that it had delivered 453 aircraft, up by 19 on 2006. Boeing delivered 441 aircraft last year.

Airbus gained net new orders for 1,341 jets, against Boeing’s 1,413, which were distributed as follows:

Airbus net orders:

A380                            23A330/340/350                    405A320 family                     913

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