British Airways is to retrofit some of its Airbus A320s with ‘sharklet’ wing-tips under a fuel-efficiency programme.
The scheme will initially involve 10 of the newest A320s in the airline’s fleet.
BA has yet to confirm when the retrofit will begin, but indicates that it will start the work in the next few months.
“This will reduce fuel burn and increase efficiency,” the carrier says.
Sharklets can be fitted relatively quickly to the most recent A320 airframes, because their wings already meet the production standard required to accommodate the modified wing-tips.
Airbus has also started offering a retrofit for older A320s which involves reinforcement of the aircraft’s wing.
BA says it has no immediate plans to extend the retrofit beyond the first 10 jets.
The carrier has been participating in a broader scheme, under parent company IAG, to save costs on the A320 fleet by harmonising core specifications for such items as avionics, galleys, and cabin crew seating.
Initially covering the A320 it is being applied, where possible, to other members of the family, including the A321s for Spanish budget airline Vueling.
In its newly-released annual report IAG states that it is also creating a single specification for the group’s Airbus A350s, which are on order for BA and Iberia.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
