Airbus Corporate Jets (Chalet 6, static display) is showing an ACJ319ceo (current engine option) this week at ABACE 2016, but the company recently received a firm order for an ACJ319neo (new engine option), the first destined for the Asia Pacific region. The unidentified Asian customer is upgrading from a large-cabin business jet and expects to take delivery of the bizliner in the second quarter of 2019.
The ACJ319neo offers several improvements over the ceo version. The most obvious is the choice of either CFM International Leap-1A or Pratt & Whitney PW1100G turbofans to replace the current CFM56-5B7/3s. Also prominent are the fuel-saving, performance-enhancing “Sharklet” wingtips.
Like the current-generation ACJ319 on display at ABACE, the ACJ319neo can be configured to carry 19 passengers. The modern technology incorporated in the neo version’s engines and airframe improvements increase fuel efficiency by 16 percent, compared with the current-generation ACJs, according to Airbus.
With a lighter passenger load, the ACJ319neo—with three times the cabin volume of traditional business jets, according to Airbus—will be able to carry eight passengers 12,500 km (6,750 nm). The most recent Asian contract sets the firm-order book at six for the ACJ319neo. Airbus announced the ACJ319neo less than a year ago.
The larger ACJ320 will also be available in the neo version with the same engine choice as the ACJ319neo, Sharklets and other improvements. The ACJ family features fly-by-wire controls, Category IIIB landing capability and runway overrun protection.
More than 170 ACJs are in service throughout the world, with around 20 of these based in China. The 19-passenger ACJ319 on display at ABACE is operated by Comlux The Aviation Group and is offered for charter services.
