Julian Moxon/ROME
Airbus handed over the first of two A319 Corporate Jetliners (ACJs) to the Italian air force on 7 March, the first entry into military service of an A320 family member.
Sales of the ACJ stand at 10 firm orders, with 18 commitments. Orders for the corporate variant have been slow to materialise since it was launched two years ago, but Airbus chief executive Dietrich Russel says: "We will give the competition [the Boeing Business Jet] a harder time once we have satisfied the strong demand for A320 family aircraft from airlines."
With a backlog of 1,162 aircraft to be delivered, Airbus is forced to limit A319CJ production slots to four or five a year, he says. "We're studying a further production rate increase for single-aisle aircraft beyond 26 a month, to meet demand," he adds.
The ACJ, number 1002, will replace a pair of McDonnell Douglas DC-9s in service with the Italian air force, which also operates a pair of Gulfstream IIIs, four Dassault Falcon 50s and two Falcon 900EXs. The ACJ is equipped with a head-up display, a Category IIIB landing system and CFM56-5B7 engines rated at 27,000lb thrust (120kN).
The aircraft, which was completed by Lufthansa Technik, is configured in four sections: a conference area with eight fully reclining seats; a private office with five seats, three of which can be converted into a bed, and a shower; a communications area and a 40-seat rear cabin equipped with business-class seating and overhead TV monitors.
• This month, Jet Aviation will deliver the first of three ACJs outfitted at its Basle conversion centre, with two more to follow this year. The company delivered its second Boeing Business Jet in February and has a further aircraft on the line for delivery in the third quarter of this year.
Source: Flight International
