German low-cost carrier and Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings is set to take a key step in modernizing its fleet next year. Spring 2022 will see the airline receive the first of 13 examples of aircraft from the modern Airbus A320neo family. As well as the standard A320neo, Eurowings also plans to fly the stretched fuselage A321neo from Spring 2023.
Deliveries coming next year
Eurowings announced earlier this week that it will receive its fits Airbus A320neo aircraft in Spring 2022. It has a total of 13 aircraft from this next-generation narrowbody family on order, of which eight will be examples of the standard A320neo. The carrier reports that the order has a list price value of $1.5 billion, although airlines rarely pay the full list price.
Eurowings plans to fit its new A320neos with a total of 180 seats. This is a fairly standard configuration for the type, and, in fact, SeatGuru reports that some of Eurowings’ first-generation A320ceos also have 180 seats. However, as Eurowings has a business class cabin with blocked middle seats, the first few rows of these aren’t used at full capacity.
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Increased efficiency levels
Eurowings has described the $1.5 billion investment in the A320neo family as “the most expensive sustainability project” in its history. This emphasizes the aircraft’s prowess when it comes to operational efficiency, something that Eurowings is looking forward to cashing in on. The airline, for example, notes a 50% reduction in noise emissions.
The A320neo family will also offer Eurowings 15% reductions in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The aircraft’s ‘sharklet’ wingtips alone reportedly save 800 tons of CO2 a year. As well as the environmental benefits of these factors, this will also improve cost efficiency at Germany’s largest holiday airline. Eurowings’ Chief Operating Officer Jens Ritter stated:
“With the neos, Eurowings is getting brand-new, highly efficient aircraft equipped with the best technology currently available. This milestone investment in our fleet is an important signal for all our customers, but also a vote of confidence by the Lufthansa Group in the future viability of Eurowings.”
Also set to receive the A321neo
As alluded to earlier, Eurowings won’t just receive the standard Airbus A320neo. Indeed, the stretched A321neo is also preparing to join the airline, albeit in the slightly longer term. Eurowings confirmed in its statement that it will begin taking deliveries of this variant in Spring 2023. It will fly five of these in total, with each seating 232 passengers.
This represents a higher density than the two A321ceos that are already on Eurowings’ books, according to data from ch-aviation.com. Indeed, these seat just 200 passengers each. However, data from ATDB.aero shows that, having received the 9.5-year-old jets in October 2019, it placed them into storage in Kaunas, Lithuania in March 2020. Sporting the new Airspace cabin, the A320neo family will benefit both Eurowings and its passengers.
Are you looking forward to seeing the A320neo at Eurowings? Have you ever flown with the German low-cost carrier? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!
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