Airbus reports rise in orders for extra-long-range airliner

19th July 2019

By: Rebecca Campbell

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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From its launch at the Paris Air Show in mid-June to the end of that month, Europe-based global major aerospace group Airbus’s latest airliner, the A321XLR, was ordered or selected by 14 airlines and one leasing company, with firm orders totalling 44 aircraft.

Letters of intent cover another 205 aircraft, giving a total of 249, of which 112 are conversions from previous orders. The most recent customers for the type are Aer Lingus (to acquire six) American Airlines (20), Iberia (eight) and Qantas (ten).

The XLR in the aircraft’s designation stands for ‘extra-long range’. This new version, which is planned to enter service in 2023, will have a range of up to 4 700 nautical miles (about 8 700 km), 15% greater than the range of the current A321LR (long-range) version. This makes the A321XLR the world’s longest-range single-aisle airliner. It will also deliver 30% less fuel consumption per seat than previous-generation competitor types.

Airbus describes its newest offering as “the A320neo jetliner series’ next evolutionary step, responding to market needs for even more range”. (The suffix -neo stands for ‘new engine option’.) The A321XLR has been designed to have minimal changes and maximum commonality with the A321LR and the wider A320neo aircraft family. The changes that have been made are those required to provide the extra-long range and an increased revenue payload.

The key difference between the A321XLR and the A321LR is the fitting of a new, permanent Rear Centre (fuel) Tank (RCT), in place of several optional Additional Centre Tanks (ACTs). The RCT holds more fuel than the ACTs but occupies a smaller volume in the cargo hold. This means that the A321XLR has more volume for under-cabin cargo and luggage on long routes.

Another important difference is that the A321XLR has a modified undercarriage to cope with the aircraft’s increased maximum takeoff weight of 101 t. It also has an optimised wing trailing edge flap configuration to maintain the same engine thrust and takeoff requirements as those of the A321neo.

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ast month, the airframe manufacturer also received firm orders for another 86 members of the A320neo family. This number was made up of 73 A320neos and 13 A321neos, split among four airlines. The group’s other single-aisle airliner family is the smaller A220 series (originally the Bombardier CS100 and CS300). June saw two airlines place orders for 15 of the longer, A220-300 version of the aircraft.

As of June 30, Airbus’s order backlog for the A320 family stood at 5 871 and 473 for the A220. Regarding its wide-body airliners, the backlog for the A350XWB family amounted to 605 aircraft, 275 for th4e A330 family and, for the A380 SuperJumbo, the number was 52.

In terms of deliveries of single-aisle airliners last month, the group handed over 54 A320 family aircraft (composed of both conventionally engined and -neo variants) to customers, as well as six A220s. On the wide-body side, ten A350XWBs were delivered, composed of both A350-900 and A350-1000 models, plus five A330neo types and one A380.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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