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Model:A319/320/321
Information: Airbus Industrie A318, A319, A320 and A321Designed for short to medium-haul routes, the A318, A319, A320 and A321 form the A320 Family, the world's most profitable single-aisle aircraft family. All derived from the same fuselage, they provide operators the highest degree of commonality and economy for aircraft in the 107-185 seat category. Derived from a design conceived in the energy-conscious 1980s, the A318, A319, A320 and A321 are the most economical and environmentally responsible aircraft in their class. Fuel burn, emissions and noise footprints are among the best for aircraft in their size category. On the other hand, the A320 Family cabin is the widest of any single-aisle aircraft, allowing operators to install wider seats for greater passenger comfort without compromising capacity. The single-aisle arrangement of the A320 Family allows for a flexible six-abreast configuration in Economy Class and a more spacious five-abreast arrangement in Business Class, or even a luxurious four-abreast configuration in First Class. The wider fuselage also offers unmatched cargo capability; the A320 Family includes the only single-aisle aircraft that offer containerised cargo, carrying anywhere from four standard LD3-46W containers in the A319 hold to 10 in the longer A321 fuselage, enabling interlining without special ground handling equipment. Launched in 1984, the first A320 entered airline service with Air France in April 1988. The A320 has rapidly established itself as the industry standard for passenger comfort and economy on short-haul routes. Typically seating 150 passengers in First and Economy with a range of up to 5,500km/3,000nm, the A320 is in widespread service on six continents, flying in all types of conditions, ranging from short European commuter sectors to coast-to-coast US flights. The A321 features a stretched fuselage, seats 185 passengers in two classes and has a range of up to 5,000km/2,700nm. It entered service in early 1994, initially with Lufthansa and Alitalia. The 124-seat A319, with a range of up to 6,500km/3,500nm, was first delivered to Swissair in April 1996 and is also used by carriers on medium to long-range routes where larger aircraft are not required. The 107-seat A318, launched in April 1999, meets airline needs at the smallest end of the market, providing an ideal member of the A320 Family to handle low-density, high-frequency operations such as domestic shuttle services. It will enter service in late 2002. The quiet A320 Family cabin is attractive for passengers and crew and the optional state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment systems further enhance the comfort and enjoyment of passengers.
The complete A320 Family – the A318, A319, A320 and A321 - offers airlines the flexibility to match market needs from 107 to 185 seats, with unmatched residual value. The A320 was also the first airliner to take full advantage of fly-by-wire flight controls. This technology has since been applied on all members of the family. It allows the family members to have the same cockpits and handling qualities, and pilots trained to fly one of the four are automatically qualified to fly the other family members due to their same type-rating. With the same airframe and systems, all four aircraft can be maintained by the same mechanics. The twin-engined A319, A320 and A321 can be powered by either CFM International CFM56 or International Aero Engines V2500 engines, while the A318 is offered with PW6000 and CFM56 powerplants. Cockpit and handling similarity also extends, thanks to fly-by-wire technology, to the much larger A330/A340 Family where, through minor amounts of additional cross-crew qualification (CCQ) training, a pilot may be licensed to fly, for example, an A320 and an A340. This provides important savings in crew training costs,  |
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