Brazilian carrier TAM Airlines wraps up purchase of 32 Airbus A320 aircraft; deliveries set for 2016 to 2018

SÃO PAULO, Brazil, 23 Oct. 2011. TAM Airlines in São Paulo, Brazil, has wrapped up a purchase agreement made last February for 32 A320-type passenger jetliners from Airbus in Toulouse, France, which consists of 22 A320neo and 10 A320 aircraft. The A320neo, which stands for new engine option, features modern fuel-efficient engines and upturned winglets, which Airbus calls "sharklets," to make the most of aerodynamic efficiency. TAM Airlines officials have not yet announced which engine they will choose for their new aircraft. The A320neo offers a choice of the CFM International LEAP-X or the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G PurePower engines. TAM Airlines is the largest commercial air carrier in Brazil. The airline will take delivery of the new aircraft between 2016 and 2018. To date, TAM has ordered more than 200 Airbus aircraft, including 27 A350-900s, and operates nearly 150 Airbus aircraft to 43 destinations within Brazil and 18 destinations throughout Europe, the United States, and South America. The airline, which announced plans earlier this year to merge with Chilean air carrier LAN Airlines, is among the largest A320 Family operators, with 125 in total, including 30 A319s, 86 A320s, and nine A321s.

Airbus has taken orders for more than 7,900 A320 aircraft, and delivered more than 4,800 to 340 customers and operators worldwide. The A320neo has more than 95 percent airframe commonality to fit into existing fleets while offering as much as 500 nautical miles more range or two tonnes more payload at a given range, Airbus officials say.

The A320neo is designed to deliver 15 percent in fuel savings and NOx emissions from earlier models of the A320. “The use o fuel efficient aircraft is key to our fuel conservation program and to our contribution to the industry CO2 emissions reduction," says José Zaidan Maluf, contracts and supply vice president of TAM Airlines.

For more information contact Airbus at www.airbus.com.