Farnborough Round-Up: Day 4

Thursday ended as being the quietest day of the week in terms of airline announcements at Farnborough International. The weather turned out to be an improvement compared to the last three days, allowing many of those eligible to turn up on the trade days to have a good look around the aircraft on static display.

Here are the key points from Thursday at Farnborough International 2016:

AirAsia Selects Leap-1A Engine for A3210neos

The Malaysian low cost carrier has confirmed that the CFM International Leap-1A engine will sit under the wings of its 100 new Airbus A321neos, aircraft that were ordered on Tuesday at Farnborough. A move that see’s the airline own up to 730 CFM engines, the latest order is valued at $2.7 billion at current list price.

“This order for the larger A321neo is an important element in our long-term growth and expansion strategy,” says Tony Fernandes, AirAsia‘s Group Chief Executive Officer. “Choosing the right engine to power them is critical to the success of that strategy. For us, the Leap-1A was the obvious choice. This engine has demonstrated the promised 15% fuel efficiency and we are quite familiar with the reliability inherent in CFM products and the impact that this has on our operations.”

With the engine expected to enter service sometime this year, CFM President and CEOJean-Paul Ebanga said, “We believe there is no greater endorsement of the technology choices we have made for the Leap engine than the continued confidence of an airline such as AirAsia, We are looking proving to them that they have made the right choice.”

Norwegian Converts 30 A320neos to 30 A321LRs

Back in 2012 the Scandinavian carrier committed to an order for 100 A320neo aircraft. But today the order has been amended, with 30 of the previously anticipated A320neos converted to A321LRs, a move that will support the carrier’s growth and modernization strategy.

In a deal that makes the low-cost carrier to operate the A321LR, company CEO Bjorn Kjos stated, “I am very excited about this new order of the Airbus A321LR, the new ‘short long-haul’ aircraft available from 2019 fits really well with our global expansion plans and future long-haul network, both in terms of size, range and fuel efficiency. The Airbus A321LR is the newest narrow body long-haul aircraft on the market and with this order we will have a significant cost advantage and increased competitiveness, which means that we can offer our customers low prices on board brand new aircraft to a wide range of new destinations.ʺ 

According to Airbus, the A321LR, the latest member of the market leading A320neo family, will be able to fly longer routes of up to 4,000nm. The A321LR will provide additional flexibility as it will have the longest range of any single aisle airliner, making it ideally suited to transatlantic routes and enable airlines to tap into new long haul markets which were not previously accessible with current single aisle aircraft. First deliveries will start in 2019.

Aer Lingus Tops-up A330 fleet

Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus expanded its A330 fleet by signing on two more aircraft, with a decision to exercise options. With the airline currently operating eight of the type, four -200s and four -300s the two more are due by the end of the year, and the latest two by the end of 2017. “This further commitment by Aer Lingus to the A330 demonstrates the unmatched operating economics and operational versatility of this aircraft,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “We are delighted to be continuing our long-standing partnership with Aer Lingus.”

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Jack Dawin

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