Page 19 - AAA JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2016 Online Magazine

FEATURE NEW AIRCRAFT
BELOW: Airbus announced a delay
in the entry into service of the
A320neo by a few weeks. Lufthansa
is the first airline to have taken
delivery of the A320neo
RIGhT: Boeing’s 737MAX has been
unable to overtake the early led
gained by Airbus with its A320neo.
The 737MAX has been on schedule
thus far and the planned maiden
flight is not too far away
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had received 768 net orders in 2015 (Boeing the 2nd week of December, IndiGo said that
data as of December 31st 2015). The 737MAX it had been informed by Airbus that delivery
Family, accounted for 409 of these orders of its first airplane had been delayed due to
along with 199 737-800s and 35 737-900ERs. ‘industrial reasons’.
Boeing’s order backlog at 5,795 airplanes, Incomplete documentation and certain
is sufficient for seven and half years of aspects related to the maintenance
production. procedures for Pratt & Whitney’s (PW)
The end of 2015 brought little cheer to Pure Power PW1100G-JM engines were
Airbus which had to announce delays in the revealed by Airbus as having been the cause
delivery of the first A320neo to an airline. behind the delay in deliveries. In addition
In the end it was a mere hiccup, a few weeks to promised fuel efficiency improvements
of delay before the first Airbus A320neo (15%)available to customers from the start,
was delivered to the Lufthansa Group. The Airbus has promised that per seat fuel burn
airline group has more Airbus jetliners improvement of 20% will be made available
in service than anyone else and has also to customers by 2020. This will allow an
ordered the largest number of jetliners, from increase in range by 950 km or an additional
the airframer. The group’s orders for Airbus two tonnes of payload capability for the
commercial airplanes, stands at 582 aircraft, same range. Indian airlines such as IndiGo
which include 116 NEOs (71 A320neo and 45 and GoAir are responsible for more than 10
A321neo) out of the 386 A320 Family aircraft percent of total A320neo orders, with 430
ordered. Qatar Airways which was slated to and 72 on order respectively. IndiGo has
be the first airline to commence commercial taken all delivery of all 100 A320ceo (current
operations with the A320neo, and has orders engine option) from a 2005 order. GoAir has
for 34 A320neos and 16 A321neos had also said that its first A320neo deliveries,
decided not to take delivery, preferring to originally scheduled to arrive from April, this
wait instead till its concerns with the Pratt & year, would be delayed.
Whitney GTF engines were resolved. Indian The 737MAX is available only with
Low Cost Carrier (LCC), IndiGo an important CFM International LEAP-1B engines. The
customer for the A320neo with 430 orders choice of the LEAP-1B continues with the
for the type, was earlier scheduled to be the Boeing tradition of selecting CFM as the
second airline (after Qatar) and the first Asian engine supplier for the 737 Family since
carrier to receive jetliner. The LCC announced 1984. Approximately 12,000 Boeing 737
in December, that it would not receive its first jetliners powered by CFM engines have
airplane on December 30th as scheduled. In a been ordered since then. The first LEAP-1B
notification to the Indian stock exchange in engines were delivered to Boeing towards
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016 ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE 19