Airbus A320

Narrow-Body Short-to-medium Route Passenger Airliner [ 1988 ]

The Airbus A320 family of jet airliners has enjoyed considerable market success for the French company - becoming a staple of many global operators since introduction in 1988 with Air France.

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The A320 family of jet airliners was introduced on April 18th, 1988 with launch carrier Air France in a move by the company to corner the narrow-body jet airliner market (facing competition from both Boeing and Douglas at the time). The series is intended for short-to-medium range routes and is powered by a pair of underslung turbofan engines. Key customers include American Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and EasyJet. Production of the series has been ongoing since 1986 and some 7,400 of the type have been produced / delivered (as of late-2016).

The Airbus A320 family includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321. The A320neo (neo = "New Engine Option") is another derivative introduced as a narrow-body, twin-engine passenger hauler in 2016 (Lufthansa). These give the customer engine options centering on either the CFM International LEAP-1A or Pratt & Whitney PW1000G series engines. The introduction of "neo" has led to the original A320 model line being referred to as "ceo" (ceo = "Current Engine Option").

The A320 series was formed from the A300 series work and emerged in the early 1970s. While the A300 (A310) was always intended for the long-range market, its variant could be developed for shorter routes using the same framework. Serious work on the project occurred in the late-1970s and the project was officially born in early-1981 as the "A320". The design was to carry around 150 passengers out to 3,440 kilometers. Engineers were allowed to feature Fly-by-Wire (FbW) control systems - the first commercial airliner to rely on this digitally-assisted control scheme commonly found on military-grade fighter-type aircraft. A first-flight by way of prototype was had on February 22nd, 1987 and Type Certification was reached on February 26th, 1988. Service entry occurred in March 1988. Deliveries of the A320 family truly ramped up at the end of the 1990s to which point the line overtook the competing Boeing 737.

The A320 was initially seen in two major variants: A320-100 and A320-200. The -100 saw only modest product with just twenty-one aircraft completed. The -200 model incorporated wingtip fencing as well as an increase to fuel capacity, enabling longer, more fuel-efficient flights to be undertaken. Both were 150-passenger models. The -200 mark enjoyed a healthier production run numbering thousands.

The A321 was a stretched fuselage offering (increased by 22.8 feet). A first-flight was recorded on March 11th, 1993 and service entry followed in January of 1994 (Lufthansa). The A321-200 was a longer-ranged model with more powerful engines.

The A319 was a short-fuselage model (decreased by 12.2 feet) with 124-passenger capability. Various engine options became available to customers. Service introduction followed in April 1996 (SwissAir). The A319CJ became the "Corporate Jet" version of the mark (rebranded to "ACJ319").©MilitaryFactory.com

The A318 was revealed as an even more compact A320 offering with seating for 132 passengers. Service entry was in July of 2003 (Frontier Airlines). Its main advantage became short, steep approach capabilities allowing it access to runways in more densely populated areas.

Attempts to produce a freighter-minded version of the A320 ultimately failed, the initiative started in mid-2008 and ended in mid-2011. However, there exists an attempt to convert existing A320 airframes to freighter forms (2015).

In all cases, the A320 family is crewed by just two personnel in the cockpit. Passenger numbers naturally vary between the designs though dimensions and performance are more-or-less comparable from one mark to the next. MTOW do vary significantly, the A318 listed at 150,000lb against the A321's 206,000lb rating for instance. Service ceilings are up to 12,500 meters across the board. The powerplant of choice is the CFM International CFM56-5B series turbofan though the PW6000A and IAE V2500A5 are alternative fittings. As such, thrust output and, in some cases performance, are affected between the marks.

The A320 family is operated globally with the largest customer being American Airlines (378 examples). Other operating countries include Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, Egypt, El Salvador, Germany, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Libya, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan (among others).

The A3XX program product is slated to replace the A320 series in the Airbus lineup. However, it is not expected to become available until the mid-2020s.

More recently, the A320 series has become the direct focus of several broader military roles including Maritime Patrol (MP), Airborne Early Warning (AEW), and SIGnals INTelligence (SIGINT).©MilitaryFactory.com

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March 2017 - An Airbus A319neo recorded a first-flight on March 31st, 2017. The flight lasted five hours and ranged from Hamburg to Toulouse.

April 2017 - The A321neo is expected to enter service in 2017 and challenge the out-of-production Boeing 757 series.

April 2017 - First-flight of the A319neo is scheduled for sometime in 2017.

September 2017 - The A320neo series will begin deliveries sometime in 2020.

October 2017 - JetBlue has become the launch customer for the new Airspace A320 model series.

October 2017 -The first A320neo aircraft built in Tianjin, China was delivered to its customer, AirAsia.

January 2018 - Airbus has completed the first A321neo ACF (Airbus Cabin Flex) model; deliveries are expected in 2018.

June 2018 - It was announced that Airbus has opened a forth A320 production facility - this in Hamburg, Germany - to serve final assembly.

July 2018 - The A321XLR is being planned as a competitor to the newly-announced Boeing NMA model. The aircraft is being developed along the lines of a long-range narrow-body airliner with a planned service date sometime in 2022.

August 2018 - Airbus has unveiled its new 25-seat, 6,000nm range ACJ320neo corporate jet form offering the choice of CFM or LEAP engines. The launch customer is Acropolis Aviation. At least three are on order.

August 2018 - Gulf Air has taken delivery of its first A320neo aircraft. Twelve are on order with the company. The company also has an order for seventeen A321neo forms.

September 2018 - It has been announced that the A320neo has officially outnumbered the base A320 model in 2018 deliveries.

September 2018 - A former A321 airliner has joined the active inventory of the German Luftwaffe.

June 2019 - Development continues on the A321XLR extended range variant.

June 2019 - The A321XLR model was formally launched at Paris Air Show 2019. Air Lease Corporation (ALC) is slated as the launch customer with deliveries scheduled to commence before the end of 2023.

June 2019 - The A321XLR has secured orders from Qantas, Iberia, and Aer Lingus at Paris Air Show 2019. In total, the week led to a commitment for over 240 A321XLR aircraft.

September 2019 - the A320 passenger airliner jet family has marked its 9,000 unit delivery (this to air carrier EasyJet).

November 2019 - Air Arabia has placed an order for 120 examples of the A320neo series.

January 2020 - Air carrier Avianca has cancelled an order for 20 A320neo airliners. Deliveries of other expected A320neo aircraft have been delayed until at least 2025 while the company restructures.

January 2020 - The A321XLR is expected to reach its first customers in 2024 with a longer-range variant arriving in 2025.

February 2020 - The A321 freighter form has received its EASA certification.

April 2020 - Development of the A321XLR long-range narrow-body airliner continues with component production said to be underway.

July 2020 - The German Luftwaffe has elected to use modified Airbus A321 passenger airliners for its MEDEVAC / troop transport role. A pair of A321 airframes will be reworked for their new roles.

January 2022 - Airbus has cancelled an order for 50 A321s destined for Qatar.

March 2022 - Avianca S.A. of Colombia has placed an order for an additional 88 Airbus A320neo airliners.

June 2022 - June 15th, 2022 marked the first-flight of the A321XLR variant as it begins one year of flight-testing.

Specifications

Airbus - France
Manufacturer(s)

Australia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Belgium; Brunei; Canada; China; Colombia; Croatia; Czech Republic; Denmark; Dominican Republic; Greece; Ecuador; Egypt; El Savador; Finland; Germany; Hong Kong; India; Iran; Iraq; Japan; Jordan; Kuwait; Libya; Mauritius; Moldova; Myanmar; Namibia; New Zealand; Pakistan; Philippines; Portugal; Russia; Saudi Arabia; South Korea; South Africa; Sweden; Taiwan; Thailand; Turkey; Ukraine; United Kingdom; United States; Uzbekistan; Vietnam; Yemen
Operators

National flag of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

1988
Service Year

France
National Origin

Active
Project Status

2
Crew

8,074
Units

COMMERCIAL AVIATION
Used in roles serving the commercial aviation market, ferrying both passengers and goods over range.

123.3 ft
(37.57 meters)
Length

117.5 ft
(35.80 meters)
Width/Span

38.5 ft
(11.75 meters)
Height

93,917 lb
(42,600 kilograms)
Empty Weight

155,999 lb
(70,760 kilograms)
Maximum Take-Off Weight

+62,082 lb
(+28,160 kg)
Weight Difference

monoplane / low-mounted / swept-back
Mainplane Arrangement

Monoplane
Design utilizes a single primary wing mainplane; this represents the most popular modern mainplane arrangement.

Low-Mounted
Mainplanes are low-mounted along the sides of the fuselage.

Swept-Back
The planform features wing sweep back along the leading edges of the mainplane, promoting higher operating speeds.

2 x CFMI CFM56-5 OR IAE V2500 turbofan engines developing between 25,400 and 27,000 lb of thrust each.
Propulsion

541 mph
(870 kph | 470 knots)
Max Speed

39,370 ft
(12,000 m | 7 miles)
Ceiling

3,542 miles
(5,700 km | 3,078 nm)
Range

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

None.

A320 (A320ceo) - Base Series Designation.

A320-100 - 21 produced.

A320-200 - Wingtip fences; increased range through increased fuel capacity; 4,108 examples produced (into 2016).

ACJ320neo - Corporate twin jet with choice of CFM or LEAP engines; 25 passenger seating; 6,000nm range.

A321 (A321ceo) - Model family variant of A320; introduced in 1994; stretched fuselag form; 1,433 examples produced; service entry 1994.

A321-200 - Increased range model with extra internal fuel tanks.

A321neo - "New Engine Option" model; CFM International LEAP-1A or PW1100G series engines offered; 1,416 examples (up to 2016).

A321neo ACF - Airbus Cabin Flex model; narrowbody passenger hauler with maximized seating.

A321LR - Long-range model; increased MTOW

A321XLR - Announced in mid-2018; long-ranged narrowbody airliner to compete with the Boeing NMA.

A318 - Compact variant of A320; 69 produced (up to 2016).

A319 (A319ceo) - Shortened fuselage variant of A320 model; 1,440 produced (up to 2016).

A319CJ - Corporate Jet variant

A320 / A321 Freighter - Possible freighter conversion program models.

A320neo - New Engine Option variant; more efficient engines installed (CFM International LEAP-1A or Pratt & Whitney PW1100G).

A320M3 - Proposed militarized form for maritime patrol actions and other suitable over-battlefield roles.

General Assessment

Firepower

Performance

Survivability

Versatility

Impact

Values are derrived from a variety of categories related to the design, overall function, and historical influence of this aircraft in aviation history.

Overall Rating

The overall rating takes into account over 60 individual factors related to this aircraft entry.

68

Rating is out of a possible 100 points.

Relative Maximum Speed

Hi: 750mph

Lo: 375mph

This entry's maximum listed speed (541mph).

Graph average of 563 miles-per-hour.

City-to-City Ranges

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

Operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).

Max Altitude Visualization

Design Balance

The three qualities reflected above are altitude, speed, and range.

Aviation Era Span

Showcasing era cross-over of this aircraft design.

Unit Production (8,074)

8074

36183

44000

Compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian).

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