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by Devesh Agarwal
Low cost carrier, Cebu Pacific Air beat out India’s IndiGo and GoAir, to become the second operator, globally, when it took delivery of its first A320 equipped with Sharklets today during a ceremony in Manila, Philippines.
The first ever A320 with Sharklets was delivered to Malaysian low cost carrier, AirAsia, late last year.
India’s IndiGo and GoAir will complete the procession of Asian low cost carriers to operate the A320 Sharklet when they take delivery of their aircraft later this quarter.
IndiGo’s A320 Sharklet aircraft serial number MSN 5437 which will become VT-IFH (see photo and read story), and GoAir’s A320 Sharklet MSN 5463 which will become VT-GOL (see photo) both had their first flights on January 15th.
In an exclusive interview with Bangalore Aviation, GoAir CEO Giorgio Di Roni had indicated GoAir might be the first Indian carrier to operate the A320 Sharklet. With the neck and neck progress, GoAir might even just pip IndiGo to the post.
Sharklets are newly designed wing-tip devices allowing airlines to reduce fuel burn by up to 4% on longer sectors. Sharklets are made from light-weight composites and are 2.4 meters tall. Cutting airlines’ fuel bills by around four percent, Sharklets 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.
