First A320neo in Production.
First A320neo in Production. Picture courtesy Airbus

First Airbus A320neo advancing rapidly through final assembly

May 2, 2014 6 Comments 531 Views

The first Airbus A320neo (new engine option), the first significant upgrade of the the best selling single aisle narrow-body jetliner of European airframer Airbus S.A.S., is progressing rapidly through the final assembly line in Toulouse, France.

The first aircraft began its final assembly last month, with the join of the forward and rear fuselage sections. Next, major structures were mated of the aircraft. Wings made at Broughton, UK; vertical tail made inStade, Germany; horizontal stabiliser tailplane made in Getafe, Spain; engine pylons made in St. Eloi, France; and wing flaps made in Bremen, Germany.

The main flight-test instrumentation equipment is also installed on the aircraft. Across the Atlantic, Pratt & Whitney is manufacturing the first set of PW1100G-JM PurePower geared turbo fan engines in the United States for delivery to Airbus in the coming months. The A320neo expects its first flight later this year, with first customer deliveries in 2015.

About Devesh Agarwal

A electronics and automotive product management, marketing and branding expert, he was awarded a silver medal at the Lockheed Martin innovation competition 2010. He is ranked 6th on Mashable's list of aviation pros on Twitter and in addition to Bangalore Aviation, he has contributed to leading publications like Aviation Week, Conde Nast Traveller India, The Economic Times, and The Mint (a Wall Street Journal content partner). He remains a frequent flier and shares the good, the bad, and the ugly about the Indian aviation industry without fear or favour.

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6 comments

  1. Xing Honey
    May 2, 2014 at 20:10

    I hope Tata-SIA airlines will get some of these instead of the old planes from the Silkair. Its become a common practice on these FDI joint ventures. They boast the deal value as huge money in investment. Eventually what India gets is used machinery as a investment. Isn’t it intelligent dumping?

    • Indraneel Upponi
      May 3, 2014 at 08:08

      Air Asia India has currently imported A320 (with SL). So, let’s hope that Tata+SIA also gets new aircraft instead of getting A320s with Silk Air.

      • Indraneel Upponi
        May 3, 2014 at 08:11

        Sorry, I mean getting A320s ‘from’ Silk Air

        • Xing Honey
          May 3, 2014 at 23:33

          AirAsia has a huge pile of A320 on order so they can assign to their subsidiaries easily. Silkair set to switch to B737 by 2018 as per info from CAPA. SIA had tactically influenced Tata-SIA to use A320 while their full subsidiary Silkair see A320 capacity and range doesn’t suit their future plans. A320 makes sense more for the LCC than for a full service carrier. Lets hope for the best but given the struggle of AirIndia in acquiring new A320s (Less than 6 year old), it is difficult.

  2. Nandha Gopal
    May 6, 2014 at 23:55

    Had an opportunity today to see this baby sitting in the Assembly canter while I went to the A350 flight test center. Looking great but still in its green paint. And also the saw the 2nd A320 with winglets for AirAsia India.

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