American Airlines will split its order for 130 Airbus A320 family aircraft equally between the A319 and A321, says engine supplier International Aero Engines (IAE).
The Fort Worth-based carrier will take 65 A319s with CFM International CFM56-5B engines and 65 A321s with IAE V2500-A5 engines, says Jon Beatty, president and chief executive of IAE, at a media event in Palm Beach on 11 April.
American previously had not disclosed how many of each type it planned to take delivery of beyond 2013. It will accept 15 A319s and five A321s from the airframer this year.
Beatty says that the V2500 is airlines' preferred engine choice for the A321 because it performs better at higher thrust ratings. The engine is used on both the smaller A320 and larger A321 and optimised about halfway between the types.
Nearly two-thirds of the 775 A321s in service around the world have V2500 engines while the remaining third have CFM56-5B engines, according to Flightglobal's Ascend Online database.
This flips for the A320 with roughly 58% of the 2,995 in service aircraft globally using the CFM56 and about 42% using the V2500, according to Ascend.
American will make a decision on what type of A320neo family aircraft it will take delivery of as well as its engine selection for the fleet by the end of the year, says Beatty.
American has orders for 130 A320neo family aircraft with deliveries from 2017.
Buyers of the A320neo family have a choice between the CFM Leap 1A or Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1100G engines for the aircraft.
American did not comment by press time.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
