A318-A319-A320-A321

Airbus expects to be able to launch a retrofit programme for sharklet wing-tips on the A320 by around March-April, having determined the technical requirements for the modification.
The
airframer has transferred to a new wing standard for the A320, which
includes reinforcement to accommodate optional sharklets.
But
Airbus has been evaluating demand for a possible sharklet retrofit for
the previous wing standard, although this would require more extensive
reworking of the type's wing-tip.
Executive vice-president for
programmes Tom Williams says the company has authorisation to offer the
retrofit but has been "trying to see if there's enough interest".
But
he says that the airframer believes it will have "enough numbers" to
launch the retrofit by around March or April, and that the first
aircraft could be modified by the latter half of 2014.
The change
would take around three weeks and customers would probably schedule the
retrofit to coincide with a C-check to minimise downtime.
It involves removing a "couple of metres" of the outer section of the wing, says Williams, and installing a replacement kit.
This
includes fitting a "bathtub" structure, he adds, which provides local
mechanical reinforcements, and reinforced skin and stringers, a task
which requires removing part of the leading edge, wing skin and aileron.
"We
had a lot of interest from customers," he says, without disclosing
identities of potential initial clients. Williams adds that the retrofit
is attractive to A320 operators wanting to maximise residual value.
He
says there is a "bit of a weight penalty" from the reinforced outer
section. But analysis indicates that the retrofit would provide the same
aerodynamic benefits and fuel-burn reduction - around 4% on long
sectors - as achieved with new-build sharklet-equipped A320s.
Airbus has neutralised the weight increase on the reinforced wing for new-build A320s, by compensating elsewhere.
Fitting
sharklets to this new wing is a much simpler modification, adds
Williams, requiring only a brief swap of the normal wing-fence for the
sharklet tip and the uploading of new software to the flight-management
system. "That's probably the longest part of the process," he says.