Airbus has decided to proceed with the winglet program for the A320 family, a move that will improve performance on all models. Additionally, Airbus is expected to decide whether to re-engine the A320 series, as CFM international said they’re ready to advance their schedule for the LEAP-X program for Comac’s C919 (the new Chinese airliner) – opening the door for a possible re-engining of the A320 series, as well as the Boeing 737.
Back to winglets. Winglets for Airbus A320 series aircraft will be offered in 2012 or 2013 as an option to airlines. It is not clear if these will be offered as retrofits, but it is clear that Airbus will concentrate on forward fits. The winglets are expected to reduce fuel burn by 2-4 percent, pending on the model / design.
The first aircraft to be fitted with winglets will be the Airbus A321 – certainly giving those with 757s a chance to switch over, and a better competitor to the 737-900.
Currently, most Airbus A320 series aircraft (with a few exceptions like the early A320s) have wingtip fences. These devices have similar aerodynamic benefits to a winglet, but are not as effective as full-sized blended winglets. Airbus has tested blended winglets before, but previously announced that they were not interested in outfitting aircraft with the technology pioneered by Boeing with the 747 / 737. Yet last December, the aircraft manufacturing shifted their view and re-opened testing.
2 Comments
October 1, 2009 at 10:37 AM
Finally got over their pride eh?
October 1, 2009 at 11:18 AM
Yeah, it’s about time. They should’ve offered this for years – it’s a significant improvement to the line-up.