Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC
Airbus Industrie is to dedicate up to 12 A319 delivery positions a year to its Corporate Jet, in a bid to convince customers that it is serious about the business aviation market.
The European consortium has booked commitments for 12 aircraft since launching the A319CJ a year ago, which is "ahead of expectations", says vice-president commercial operations Paul Mason. Boeing has sold 46 737-700-based Business Jets, although its aircraft has been on the market longer. "We would like to sell more, so we are dedicating production to the Corporate Jet," he says.
Mason says booming airline orders for the A320 single-aisle family were causing concern among potential corporate customers that demand would exceed supply. Single-aisle production is scheduled to reach 22 a month by late 1999, and agreement has been reached to allocate some of that production to the A319CJ.
"We will look at the market for next year and then decide how many slots to dedicate to the Corporate Jet," he says. "We will allocate production to the Corpo-rate Jet based on demand, which may change from year to year." The lead time required for production of an A319CJ is 17-20 months, but the aircraft can be converted to an airliner up to nine months before delivery, Mason says.
Airbus forecasts an annual market for 24 A319CJ-class business jets, and does not expect to produce more than 12 aircraft a year. Four are already in production, and the first will be delivered to a customer in November 1999. The next available delivery slot for a "green" aircraft is in 2000.
The first A319CJ will be used for flight testing, and is expected to fly in May next year. After certification of the Corporate Jet configuration, the aircraft will be delivered to a completion centre for interior installation. The A319CJ costs $35 million green, and completion is expected to cost $4-10 million.
Source: Flight International
