Speedi Wings & Wheels Magazine - February / March 2018

Speedi Wings & Wheels - February / March 2018 - Page 6
By Steve Wood - Staff Writer
Av News
Snippets of Aviation News
www.speedi.tv
Airbus’ A321LR goes the
distance to open new
horizons for airlines
Toulouse 14 February 2018
Nonstop Paris-New York flight
demonstrates the jetliner’s
capabilities, including on busy
North Atlantic routes
The best-selling A320 Family
marked a new milestone with
yesterday’s Paris-to-New York
nonstop flight flown by the A321LR
– demonstrating this jetliner
version’s ability to serve new
markets and operate on heavilytravelled
North Atlantic routes with
the highest levels of efficiency and
comfort.
The LR designation is for ‘long
range’ and with good reason: the
A321LR has the longest range of
any single-aisle commercial aircraft
today, able to fly 7,400 kilometres
nonstop.
Its ‘long legs’ are signified by the
No. 1 A321LR’s livery featuring the
Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty –
a representation of the Paris/New
York route flown yesterday from Le
Bourget Airport near the French
capital to the New York region’s
John F. Kennedy International
Airport. The aircraft also is well
suited for intra-regional airline
segments in Asia, the United States
and other markets.
Improved aerodynamics and
efficient jet engines
The A321LR’s unrivalled efficiency
– driven by aerodynamic
improvements and state-of-the-art
efficient turbofan jet engines – has
established its popularity among
airlines, with Airbus already
notching more than 100 orders for
the aircraft; the first customer
delivery is expected in late 2018.
The interior of the A321LR will be
passenger-pleasing as well, with
unmatched comfort from the widest
single-aisle cabin in the sky,
comfortable seats, extra-large
luggage bins and the latest in-flightentertainment
technology.
Photo left: Airbus’ long-range
variant of the single-aisle A321neo
– designated the A321LR – touches
down at New York’s John F.
Kennedy International Airport after
a non-stop transatlantic crossing
from Paris
Operators can outfit the A321LR in
state-of-the-art two-class
configurations with full-flat seats
for true long-haul comfort, or in a
single-class layout capable of
accommodating up to 240 persons.
The A321LR is the next
evolutionary step of Airbus’ twinengine
A321neo that has captured
more than an 80 percent share in its
middle-of-the-market category.
Airbus expects the A321LR to
continue this trend, as it offers a
thoroughly modern replacement for
the large number of ageing
narrowbody and widebody aircraft
facing retirement in the coming
years.
Value from continual investment
in the A320 Family
Airbus continuously invests in the
A320 Family – some $300 million
per year – to keep this jetliner
product line at the leading edge of
technology, thereby creating value
for its customers and providing
continued comfort for passengers.
The A321LR performed its maiden
flight on 31 January of this year.
Yesterday’s transcontinental flight,
with the aircraft powered by two
CFM International LEAP-1A
engines, is part of nearly 100 hours
of flight tests in advance of the
jetliner’s airworthiness certification,
expected in the second quarter of
2018.
Airbus’ A400M airlifter:
military workhorse around
the globe
Toulouse 9 February 2018 - With
exceptional range and lifting
capacity, Airbus’ A400M is
becoming the transport aircraft of
choice for air forces worldwide
The Airbus-built A400M Atlas on
display at this week’s 2018
Singapore Airshow is one of the
hardest-working in service.
Operated by the Malaysian Air
Force, this airlifter is among three
A400Ms logging the most
flights to date worldwide,
with the other two topactivity
aircraft also
flying with the Malaysian
military.
A major driver for
Malaysia’s A400M fleet
acquisition was the
country’s objective to be
a regional leader in
humanitarian and disaster
relief (HADR)
operations. Its aircraft
already have risen to the
task, having provided relief supplies
to Rohingya refugees in
Bangladesh, for example.
In the two years since the previous
Singapore Airshow, the number of
four-engine A400Ms in service has
nearly tripled, from just over 20 to
58 today. The full Malaysian fleet
of four is now in service; the United
Kingdom has received 18 of the 22
it ordered and will soon be forming
its second operational squadron.
Germany has 16 A400Ms; France
operates 13; Turkey has five that
have been flying intensively; and in
the last year, Spain began operations
with two aircraft now in service and
more to come. All told, the A400M
fleet has flown more than 29,000
hours.
A400M humanitarian relief
operations
After Hurricane Irma’s devastation
in September 2017, several
European countries dispatched
A400Ms with disaster relief
supplies to the Caribbean. The UK,
France and Germany each deployed
two A400M airlifters; Germany’s
aircraft were sent on behalf of the
Netherlands to evacuate citizens to
Europe.
While several types of military
airlifters were used, the A400Ms
showed their worth – being able to
cross the Atlantic more quickly than
the C-130 Hercules aircraft that also
were sent to the region, while
carrying a useful load. The Airbusbuilt
transports were able to make
the trip with only one refuelling stop
instead of the three required by C-
130s, and arrived carrying more
cargo. Britain’s Royal Air Force
delivered equipment such as
tractors, and the French Air Force
carried an Airbus-produced Puma
helicopter on one deployment flight
– a highly valuable resource to have
on-site at the beginning of a relief
operation.
Once in the Caribbean, the A400Ms
proved extraordinarily effective
with their ability to operate from
shorter airfields, performing interisland
flights where they could carry
nearly three times as much cargo as
the C-130.
The A400M in a military role
Having more than proved
itself in HADR
operations, the A400M is
first and foremost a
military transport. The
RAF increasingly is
inserting its A400Ms into
logistic duties, supporting
coalition forces in the
Middle East; while the
French Air Force has
been using it in the same
way in Mali and Niger –
where the A400M is
demonstrating the
airlifter’s positive results from
unpaved runways.
The Turkish Air Force, having
upgraded from earlier-generation
twin-engine C-160 Transall
airlifters, has been extensively using
its A400Ms, deploying to
Mogadishu for the evacuation of
Turkish citizens, and flying to
Russia in support of VIP operations.
As the A400M increasingly
becomes integrated into worldwide
air forces, this Airbus-manufactured
aircraft is setting the standard for air
mobility operations.