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You have seen the largest aircraft in the skies -- the Airbus A380 -- at Indian airports, noticeable because of its sheer size. You have also seen the Boeing 747-800 at Indian airports which too is noticeable for its size. Now look out for the slightly smaller though equally distinct Airbus A-320 New Engine Option (NEO) aircraft at Delhi airport.
Distinguished by its large engine -- 81 inches as compared to 61 inches of the Current Engine Option (CEO) – the A-320 NEO is being brought to India by IndiGo which became the second airline globally after German carrier Lufthansa to induct the latest civilian aircraft in its fleet.
Kiran Rao, Executive Vice President, Strategy and Marketing at Airbus told BusinessLine over a telephonic conversation from the Airbus headquarters in France that a flyer requires a “keen eye” to notice the other features that distinguish the A-320 NEO. “If you are looking from the back (into an IndiGo aircraft) you can see the way the engine is finished on the back. Everything is enclosed within a cell,” Rao said pointing out that the other variety of engines powering the NEO will have a bit of the jet pipe sticking out. A senior IndiGo employee added that if a person looks carefully he is likely to notice that the little white paint mark in the centre of the engine is straight in a NEO as compared to being curly on the CEO engine.
The other distinguishing features of the A-320 NEO are more hidden. “Once you are inside the aircraft, it is quieter although in terms of capacity the CEO and NEO are the same as the airframe for both the engines is the same,” said the IndiGo employee. What are also hidden from view are the NEO’s fuel efficient geared turbo engine fans.
It also has large Sharklet wing-tip devices, which will together deliver 15 per cent in fuel savings from day one and 20 per cent by 2020. This is equivalent to a reduction of 5,000 tonnes of CO2 per aircraft per year. In addition, the A-320 NEO also provides a double-digit reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions and reduced engine noise.
IndiGo has ordered 430 NEO aircraft, the first of which landed in Delhi on March 11 after a non-stop flight from the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France. Airbus has confirmed to IndiGo that it will deliver 24 Airbus 320 NEO to the Indian carrier by March 2017.
IndiGo is not the only airline in India which is getting the NEO. Air India also plans to induct the A-320 NEO into its fleet from 2017 having signed an agreement for leasing 14 aircraft at the recently concluded Hyderabad air show. And GoAir too had ordered over 70 aircraft in 2011.
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