Alitalia has completed the restructuring of its A321 orderbook with Airbus Industrie and placed additional orders, which will see the majority of the 27 aircraft now on backlog delivered as smaller A320s.
It was revealed earlier this year that the Italian flag carrier was negotiating to re-arrange its outstanding orders with Airbus for 23 A321s, to include some of the smaller A320s. Alitalia has taken delivery of 17 of the 40 CFM International CFM56-5-powered A321s it originally ordered in 1989. The airline has now placed firm orders for four A320s for delivery in 1999 and, at the same time, converted 15 of its 23 outstanding A321s to A320s.
The airline, which has yet to confirm officially the engine selection for the 19 A320s it now has on order, says that the eight remaining A321s will be delivered by the end of 1998, bringing its fleet to 25 aircraft. Airbus has adjusted its order listing to reflect the changes, but is recording the 15 switched positions under its "undisclosed-customer" category.
Source: Flight International
