Airbus, famille A320, avec "winglets"

Airbus
has achieved on schedule certification for its new fuel-saving
Sharklets for the A320 with CFM engines. This certification received
from the European airworthiness authorities (EASA) will be followed very
soon by the US FAA.

Tom
Williams, Executive Vice President of Programmes at Airbus says: “The
certification of Airbus’ Sharklets is a milestone which paves the way
for airlines to benefit from savings in fuel of around four percent.
That’s better than we’d anticipated.” He adds: “The annual greenhouse
gas emission reduction per aircraft equipped with Sharklets will be
approximately 1,000 tonnes of CO₂ – that’s equivalent to taking 200 cars off the roads.”

For
the flight test campaign, A320 Family aircraft with both CFM56 and V2500
engines have recently taken to the skies with Sharklets. When complete,
this flight testing will represent approximately 600 flight-hours
spread over 9-10 months. Certification of the remaining aircraft/engine
variants with Sharklets will therefore follow in the coming months. By
the end of 2012, Air Asia will become the first airline to take delivery
of Sharklet-equipped A320s.

Due to
the very strong customer demand for Sharklets, all Airbus’ single-aisle
final assembly lines (FALs) will be engaged in building A320 Family
aircraft with Sharklets. These FALs are located in Toulouse, Hamburg and
Tianjin and will soon be followed by an additional A320 FAL in Alabama
USA.

Sharklets
are large devices made from composites and are 2.4 metres tall.
Attached to the A320’s wing-tip during the assembly process, they reduce
fuel burn and emissions by improving the aerodynamics of the aircraft.
As well as cutting airlines fuel bills, Sharklets will add around 100nm
range and also allow increased payload capability of up to 450kgs.
Sharklets are an option on new-build aircraft, and are standard on the
A320neo Family.

To
date, more than 8,600 Airbus A320 Family aircraft have been sold and
more than 5,300 delivered to more than 350 customers and operators
worldwide, making it the world’s best selling commercial jetliner ever.
The A320 Family has the lowest operating costs of any single-aisle
aircraft. Headquartered in Toulouse, France, Airbus is an EADS company.

Airbus is studying whether it should offer a 236-seat version of the
Airbus A321, industry sources tell Aviation Week. The high-density
configuration would be possible using the latest slim seats with the
literature bag above, rather than below, the seatback table. Seats also
would have to be placed in a 28-in. pitch configuration throughout the
cabin. No fuselage stretch or other modifications, such as additional
emergency exits, would be needed.
Airbus says it has “no firm plans” to raise A321 capacity further.
According
to the manufacturer, the aircraft currently can be operated in a
220-seat configuration at maximum capacity. By comparison, Boeing’s
737-900 can accommodate up to 215 passengers in a single-class layout.
A
236-seat aircraft would be much larger than models typically operated
by low-cost carriers. In the mainline scheduled role, the aircraft would
hit operational issues, such as long boarding times through a single
boarding bridge that would not enable quick turnarounds. But the
aircraft could be of interest to charter and scheduled airlines looking
for a Boeing 757 replacement, provided boarding and debarking can occur
through two doors. Also, with the introduction of the A321NEO, the
A321’s range will increase from the current nominal 3,200 nm with
maximum passenger load to 3,700 nm, making longer sectors from Central
Europe to the Canary Islands or similar missions more feasible.

Airbus has delivered the first A320 equipped with
Sharklets today to AirAsia, which becomes the first operator of the new
fuel-saving large wing tip devices. Sharklets are an option on new-build
A320 Family aircraft, and are standard on all members of the A320neo
Family.


Sharklets are made from light-weight composites and
are 2.4 metres tall. These newly designed wing-tip devices reduce fuel
burn and emissions by improving the aerodynamics of the aircraft
significantly. Cutting airlines’ fuel bills by around four percent,
Sharklets will offer the flexibility to A320 Family operators of either
adding around 100 nautical miles more range or allowing increased
payload capability of up to 450 kilogrammes.


“We are extremely proud to be the first airline in
the world to take delivery of an A320 fitted with Airbus’ new, fuel
saving Sharklets,” said Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Group Chief Executive
Officer of AirAsia . “AirAsia has a long-standing, special relationship
with Airbus and as we grow our network with our all A320 fleet, these
new wing tip devices will contribute to fulfilling our goal of being the
most efficient, innovative low cost airline in the world.”


“As our biggest A320 Family airline customer, it’s
very fitting that AirAsia is the first carrier to benefit from the four
percent fuel saving our new Sharklets deliver,” said John Leahy, Airbus
Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “AirAsia’s vision is to make is
possible for everyone to fly and now with their Sharklet-equipped A320s
they can assure their passengers that they are also travelling on board
the world’s most environmentally friendly single-aisle aircraft.”


Due to the very strong customer demand for
Sharklets, all Airbus’ single-aisle final assembly lines (FALs) will be
engaged in building A320 Family aircraft with Sharklets. These FALs are
located in Toulouse (France), Hamburg (Germany) and Tianjin (China) and
will soon be followed by an additional A320 FAL in Mobile (Alabama,
USA).

Beochien a écrit:Oui Poncho !

Les Coréens qui les fabriquent, ces Sharklets, vont avoir du boulot , 40 A320 par mois, plus les retrofit's !