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A320neo milestone reached with first run of CFMI LEAP-1A engine

A major landmark for the A320neo programme has been achieved with the first engine start for CFM International’s most advanced and efficient turbofan: the LEAP-1A, in Peebles Ohio USA. This event inaugurates the LEAP-1A certification test program – the beginning of the journey towards the certification and then the entry into service of the first LEAP engine on the A320neo. The engine behaved as expected and has achieved full take-off thrust levels.

Jean-Paul Ebanga, President & CEO of CFM International commented: “This is a great accomplishment for both the CFM and Airbus teams to reach this milestone two days ahead of the schedule we laid out three years ago. I thank everyone much for their continued trust and support. We are all very proud to be part of the A320 family and will continue to maintain the CFM legacy on this program in the months and years to come.”

Klaus Roewe, Airbus’ Senior Vice President A320neo Family said: “We congratulate CFM on the successful engine start of the LEAP-1A engine – an integral part of the Airbus A320neo family of aircraft.” He adds: “Commencing the test programme of CFM’s LEAP engine is an important milestone on our common journey – we look forward to the test results and to its integration with the aircraft.”

The A320neo gives operators a choice of two new engines – the PurePower PW1100G-JM from Pratt & Whitney and CFM International’s LEAP-1A turbofan, each with a fully optimised fan diameter and advanced core. Moreover, coupled with Airbus’ Sharklet large wing tip devices, these enhancements together ensure that the best-selling A320 Family will retain its market leading position as the most capable and cost-efficient single-aisle airliner for the foreseeable future.

Sharklets EASA certified across all production A320 Family airliners

All members of today’s production A320 airliner Family have now successfully completed flight testing and EASA-certification for Sharklets. This milestone follows the EASA certification on 6th September for the last “Sharklet family” airliner: the A319 with IAE engines.

The Sharklet certification flight test campaign, which started in May 2012, has encompassed around 600 flight hours and involved several new-build aircraft across the A320 Family (A319, A320 and A321) with both engine types (CFM56 and IAEV2500).

The Sharklet wing-tip devices replacing the A320’s current wing-tip fence and reducing fuel burn up to 4%, are available as an option on new-build A320 Family aircraft, and will be standard on A320neo jetliners. So far over 125 Sharklet aircraft have been delivered to more than 35 operators.

A350 XWB development aircraft construction milestones

Activity continues on A350 XWB test aircraft, demonstrating that the A350 XWB is progressing well on its route to type certification:

  • MSN003 – which is identical to MSN1 and will be the next to fly in the coming weeks – has completed its outdoor ground tests including fuel and pressurization and has now been fitted with its two Trent XWB engines. MSN003, which will be used for the cold and hot weather campaigns, is thus one step closer to its maiden flight.
  • MSN002, the first A350 be fitted with a full cabin interior, is also progressing: After completion of structural activities and successful electrical power-on, the aircraft was recently transferred to ‘Station 30’ at the Final Assembly Line (FAL) for indoor ground testing. Subsequently, the first cabin monuments such as crew rests and galleys are being installed during September, before testing outdoors.
  • MSN004 recently underwent join-up of its three main fuselage sections at ‘Station 50’ in the FAL. This stage follows the successive delivery of the three fuselage sections between beginning and mid-August. Next steps include the assembly of the wings as well as of the horizontal and vertical tail plane.
  • MSN005 – the second A350 development aircraft to be fitted with a cabin interior will enter the Airbus Final Assembly hall in the coming weeks.

Orders and deliveries activity – August in review

During the month of August Airbus received new orders for 10 aircraft bringing the year’s total net to 902 orders. CIT leasing company’s booking for five longer-fuselage A321s underscores the industry’s need for higher capacity single-aisle aircraft. Meanwhile Texas Aviation Group and affiliates contracted for four A319ceo jetliners in August, and China Eastern Airlines ordered a widebody A330-200.

Regarding deliveries, the month’s highlight was Airbus’ 8,000th overall delivery with an A320 provided to the Indonesian operation of AirAsia. Also included in the month’s 47 deliveries was Philippine Airlines’ first A321, which was the 54th A321 delivered this year. In addition, two more A380s were delivered, making 11 so far this year, and overall schedule is on track.

As of 31stAugust, a total of 394 Airbus jetliners had been provided to 83 customers during 2013 – representing an eight per cent increase from the January-August period in 2012. Taking into account the month’s order and delivery activity, Airbus’ backlog stood at 5,190 aircraft at the end of August.

Airbus ProSky to implement RNP-AR–to–ILS transition approaches at China’s Chengdu Airport

Airbus’ dedicated ATM subsidiary Airbus ProSky is to work with China’s Air Traffic Management Bureau (ATMB) to enable commercial aircraft to perform a satellite-based RNP AR approach into Chengdu Airport and then transfer seamlessly to the ground-based precision ILS mode when aligned on the runway axis. This capability, which will improve overall airport capacity, is part of the wide-ranging memorandum agreement recently signed between Airbus ProSky and ATMB under the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

In 2011, Airbus with its partners in the VINGA flight trials demonstrated with an A321 the world’s first ever RNP-AR–to–ILS transition at Gothenburg’s Landvetter airport in south-western Sweden. By linking an ILS ‘precision approach’ to a RNP ‘arrival’, low-minima conditions (ie 200ft and below) will no longer a show-stopper for flexible arrivals. This combination also ensures that noise and fuel burn reductions through less track-miles can be systematically achieved in all weather conditions.

GSM mobile and Wi-Fi connectivity now in production on A320 Family

The A320 family will soon join other Airbus aircraft types in offering the full spectrum of connectivity solutions from the production line – supporting both wi-fi internet and GSM telephone services. The first A320s fitted with the system are being completed at the final assembly line in Toulouse. The installed equipment will deliver both internet access and mobile telephony services. With this latest A320 Family offering, Airbus’ Airline Network Architecture (ALNA v2) is now available across all current production Airbus aircraft families including the A330, A380, and soon to come on the A350 XWB. Airlines are currently increasing uptake for connectivity services across all sizes of aircraft, including short-to-medium haul operations and for both internet and telephone services.

American Airlines to debut transcontinental flights with A321s in three-class layout with full-flat beds and Wi-Fi

American Airlines with its new Airbus A321s equipped with wingtip “Sharklets” will soon provide its passengers transcontinental services in the comfort of a full three-class interior with full lie-flat seats in both First and Business Class – a first for any airline. American will receive its first specially configured A321s later this year and will operate them on USA coast-to-coast direct services initially between New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) – a distance of around 2,500 miles. This will be followed by services between JFK and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) – nearly 2,600 miles.

Inside the new A321s, customers will be connected with Wi-Fi throughout the cabin, enjoy in-seat inflight entertainment (IFE) and benefit from individual 110v universal AC power outlets and USB jacks at every seat. The cabin will also include four full-service galleys, for the first time on an A321.

Airbus Customer Services offers AP/FD-TCAS for in-service aircraft

Airbus Customer Services is now offering operators the possibility to upgrade their in-service aircraft with AP/FD-TCAS (Auto-Pilot/Flight-Director Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System). This is a new function which allows the pilot to fly avoidance maneuvers triggered by TCAS system either with the Autopilot or with the Flight-Director.

To encourage operators to upgrade, Airbus has introduced packaged solutions covering all aircraft configurations. Many safety and operational benefits are expected, including optimized reactions in collision avoidance, cabin comfort, and latest Flight Management and Displays functionalities. The older the aircraft generation, the greater the associated advantages which operators will gain. Moreover, the solution has a broad applicability coupled with a convenient packaged approach and is tailored for specific fleet configurations.   The package also provides a good foundation for future growth and capabilities such as Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast and Required Navigation Performance.

New Airbus applications and features available now on iPad EFB

Since the official launch of “FlySmart with Airbus” on iPad less than a year ago, almost 60 customers have now selected this unique Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) solution, and around 10 percent of the Airbus pilot community worldwide are already using the devices. After being the first aircraft manufacturer to provide its EFB performance-calculating applications for pilots on iPad, Airbus has further enhanced its portfolio by adding new applications:

~ FlySmart with Airbus / Manager: Allowing the user to update the operational data of its EFB applications suite in a centralized way and check its EFB version;

~ FlySmart with Airbus / Loadsheet: Enabling the pilots to compute weight and balance data of the aircraft according to the type of operations and aircraft loading, and considering easy handling of last minute changes.

In addition, new features have been developed for the take-off and landing applications such as optimum configuration, multiple runway computations, export of computations and computation time improvement.

NB. For additional info on any of these news topics or to request an interview with an expert, then please contact Martin Fendt, martin.fendt@airbus.com ; mobile tel: +33 617 720 581

or: media@airbus.com ; tel: +33 561 93 10 00

USEFUL INFO FOR JOURNALISTS:

Recent press releases

NB. To view them please click on the links below or visit www.airbus.com

For your diary – Upcoming major events/airshows

(near-term, where Airbus Media Relations is present):

  • APEX Expo, Anaheim, California USA:                                        September 9-12
  • Aviation Expo China                                                                      September 25-28
  • NBAA, Las Vegas, USA                                                                                      October 22-24
  • Seoul ADEX Airshow, South Korea:                       October 29 - November 3
  • Dubai Air Show, United Arab Emirates:                                        November 17-21

Current aircraft programmes – orders & deliveries: (summary to 31st August 2013)

Lisätietoja:

Anna-Mari Tiilikainen, puh. 050 558 0888, anna-mari.tiilikainen(at)cocomms.com

Airbus Facebookissa www.facebook.com/airbus, Twitterissä http://twitter.com/Airbus

Airbus

Airbus on johtava lentokoneiden valmistaja, jonka tuotevalikoima on markkinoiden nykyaikaisin ja kattavin ja ulottuu 100 hengen koneista aina 500 paikan koneisiin. Airbus edistää innovatiivisia tekniikoita, ja yhtiön lentokoneet kuuluvat polttoaineen kulutukseltaan tehokkaimpiin ja hiljaisimpiin maailmassa. Airbus on toimittanut yli 7 000 lentokonetta noin 350 asiakkaalle eri puolilla maailmaa. Tilauskannassa on lähivuosina toimitettavaksi miltei 5 000 konetta. Airbus on globaali yritys, jolla on suunnittelu- ja tuotantotoimintoja Ranskassa, Saksassa, Isossa-Britanniassa ja Espanjassa. Tytäryhtiöitä on Yhdysvalloissa, Kiinassa, Japanissa sekä Lähi-idässä. Yhtiön pääkonttori on Toulousessa, Ranskassa. Airbus kuuluu EADS-konserniin.

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