Following the first firm order for Airbus’ in-service retrofit offering – placed by JetBlue last year to equip 110 A320 Family jetliners – total commitments have grown to 191 ship-sets, plus 36 options. The option’s most recent customer is Turkish Airlines, with a firm order for 44 ship-sets.
Overall, around 3,500 A320 Family aircraft in service today are eligible to be retrofitted with Sharklets, which improve the aerodynamics for this benchmark single-aisle product line and significantly reduce fuel burn and emissions by up to four per cent.
The in-service Sharklet retrofits are anticipated to begin during the first half of 2015. The procedure to install them includes some wing structure modifications, as well as adjustments to flight control computer parameters.
For Airbus’ production retrofit option, available to jetliners with “Sharklet-ready” wings, deliveries are proceeding apace. Since early 2013, Airbus has signed with 18 customers for 53 ship-sets – while a significant number of production retrofit sales campaigns are underway, with a specific focus on the Asia-Pacific region.
The production retrofit option, offered since February 2013, is for new aircraft delivered with the latest production standard of wings, which are capable of being fitted with Sharklets without any additional structural reinforcements, and only require adjustments to the flight control computer.
Source / Author: Airbus
Photo: Airbus