TOULOUSE, France, 15 Jan. 2012. Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris in Mexico City is buying 44 Airbus A320 aircraft from Airbus in Toulouse, France. The Volaris order, announced last week consists of 30 A320neo and 14 A320 aircraft, and is the largest-ever single commercial aircraft order by an airline in Mexico, Airbus officials say. Volaris also is the first airline in Mexico to order the A320neo, and will announce its A320neo engine selections later.
The order will more than double Volaris’s all-Airbus fleet to support expansion and fleet renewal. The airline currently operates 34 Airbus aircraft and has a backlog of 58, including latest order, Airbus officials say.
The twin-engine Airbus A320neo family consists of the latest-model A320, A321, and A319. All the new aircraft have sharklet wing tips and offer a choice of the CFM International LEAP-X or the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G PurePower engines. These environmentally friendly engines provide the aircraft family with some of the best fuel efficiency in its class, Airbus officials say.
The A320neo is a new engine option for the A320 entering into service from 2015 and incorporates latest generation engines and large "Sharklet" wing tip devices, which together will deliver 15 percent in fuel savings, Airbus officials say.
The reduction in fuel burn is equivalent to nearly 370,000 gallons of fuel -- the consumption of 1,000 mid size cars, saving 3,600 tonnes of C02 per aircraft per year, Airbus officials say. The A320neo NOx emissions are 50 percent below CAEP/6, while this aircraft also has considerably a smaller noise footprint.
Sharklets on the aircraft wingtips can add more than 3.5 percent savings in overall fuel consumption on long routes, while also improving takeoff performance and increasing payload by 1,100 pounds for additional range or more passengers.
The A320neo can seat as many as 150 passengers in a two-class arrangement, and as many as 180 passengers with high-density seating. The stretched-fuselage A321neo can seat as many as 185 passengers in a two-class layout, or as many as 220 passengers in a high-density cabin. The shorter-fuselage A319neo can seat 124 passengers in two classes or as many as 156 passengers in a high-density cabin setup.
For more information contact Airbus online at www.airbus.com, or Volaris at www.volaris.mx.
