Finnair prima compagnia a interessarsi formalmente al nuovo A321 Sharklets


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Ottimo passo per proseguire l'opera di convincimento verso le compagnie USA che il 321 Sharklets e' il perfetto sostituto del 757!


Finnair first to commit to A321s with Sharklets
Fleet harmonisation aims at lower fuel consumption and eco-efficiency

Finnair has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for five Airbus A321s equipped with the new fuel-saving Sharklet wing tip devices, becoming the world’s first airline to commit to the A321 with Sharklets. The increased eco-efficiency of the A321 with Sharklets will offer Finnair a four per cent fuel saving on specific Finnair routes compared to today’s aircraft.

This commitment is part of an extensive harmonisation study by Finnair to bring new cost efficiencies to its fleet. This renewal allows Finnair to benefit from economies of scale, with cross crew qualification and mixed fleet flying that are unique attributes of the Airbus family.
Deliveries of A321s with Sharklets are scheduled to begin in 2013.

“Finnair sees the new “Sharklets” option as a significant jump ahead in terms of fuel-burn savings, reduced maintenance costs and payload-range performance improvement”, says Mika Vehviläinen, President and CEO, Finnair. This option enables us to harmonise all our medium haul operations. We would also benefit further from the unique commonality aspects of the Airbus family cockpit, such as lower pilot and maintenance training costs.”

“We are pleased that despite the difficult economic environment and the challenges faced by European airlines, Finnair had the courage to look ahead and take a definitive step towards greener aviation,” says John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “We have been working in close cooperation with Finnair since 1998, and this is not the first time Finnair has shared a first with us. Our Finnish partners were the first to make a firm order for 11 A350 XWB aircraft in 2007.”

Finnair currently operates an Airbus fleet of 41 aircraft: 29 A320 Family aircraft and 12 A330s/A340s.

Airbus’ Sharklet wingtip devices are designed to enhance the eco-efficiency and payload-range performance of the A320 Family. They are expected to result in at least 3.5 percent reduced fuel burn over longer sectors, corresponding to an annual CO2 reduction of around 700 tonnes per aircraft.

The A320 Family (A318, A319, A320 and A321) is recognised as the benchmark single-aisle aircraft family. With over 6,500 aircraft sold, and more than 4,300 aircraft delivered to some 310 customers and operators worldwide, the A320 Family is the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family.
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Airbus Media Release
 
Airbus points sharklet A321 at 757 replacement market
By Jon Ostrower

Airbus is confident that performance upgrades in the pipeline for its single-aisle ­family will give its largest model, the A321, a sufficient range boost for a genuine shot at the huge ­Boeing 757-200 replacement ­market.

The airframer's chief operating officer for customers, John Leahy, believes that the new 'sharklet' winglets, which will provide a 3.7% reduction in fuel burn and around 220km (120nm) more range on the A321 from 2012, means there are "great opportunities to replace the 757-200".

According to Airbus there are 689 passenger 757-200s in service, with several large fleets operating with US carriers including American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. The latter is in the early stages of a fleet renewal evaluation for its 96 aircraft, although this may be affected by its proposed merger with Continental Airlines.

The 757, which is slightly larger that the A321, has always had superior payload-range, but the sharklet upgrade gives the Airbus single-aisle "true US transcontinental range capability", says Leahy.

He adds that the sharklet-outfitted A321 will be able to operate between Boston and San Francisco or San Francisco and Maui, Hawaii, with maximum passengers - similar to routes flown by the US 757 operators - but with a 17% per seat fuel burn advantage, based on a 185-seat A321 and 192-seat 757-200.

Equipped with Aviation Partners Boeing winglets, the 757 has a range of 8,300km, which is around 2,600km more than the A321, giving it transatlantic range.

Airbus vice-president for customer affairs Andy Shankland concedes that the transatlantic routes flown by some US 757 operators are beyond the capability of the A321, and says that the primary focus centres on US transcontinental routes.

Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker, whose airline is a major A320-family operator, said recently that Airbus' proposed 'new engine option' re-engining with advanced turbofans would provide an even more significant boost in performance for the A321.

Boeing is not being idle on its current narrowbody family, and will decide this year on re-engining for the 737 to give a potential fuel burn improvement of 10-15%.

Airbus claims that the A321 with sharklets has an 8% fuel-burn advantage over the current version of the largest 737, the 173-seat -900ER. However Boeing plans to deliver a 2% improvement in fuel burn for the 737 next year through the new CFM56-7BE engine and an aerodynamic clean-up.

flightglobal.com
 
si può vedere una foto o un disegno??

Ufficiali non ce ne sono ancora. Ma lo puoi immaginare:

sharklet.jpg


Allungalo! ;)
 
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