Airbus had been discussing options for a fly-past of the A320neo at the Paris air show but scaled back its plans after technical snags halted testing with the Pratt & Whitney-powered variant.
There had been an indication at the end of May that the A320neo would not make an appearance, because it was notably missing from the Paris line-up publicised by Airbus Group.
Airbus insists that it had never intended the A320neo to participate as an exhibit but acknowledges that a number of possibilities had been considered for a fly-past during the event.
The airframer had performed a short fly-past of the A350-900 at Paris 2013, just days after its maiden flight, in the presence of French president Francois Hollande – who is also due to attend this year’s show.
But while the A320neo is several months into its flight-test campaign, the temporary suspension affecting the PW1100G-equipped jets – which account for two of the three test aircraft – complicated plans even for a simple fly-past.
Only the single CFM International Leap-1A version is currently active. This version, which joined the fleet on 19 May, had conducted 23 flights and accumulated 75h by 12 June, with the aircraft sometimes flying twice daily as part of the intense campaign.
Airbus had considered flying both engine variants and then, according to a source familiar with the situation, looked at the possibility of using just one – although this could have drawn attention to the absence of the P&W model. The airframer eventually decided not to bring either version.
Qatar Airways, the launch operator for the P&W-powered A320neo, will maintain the A320 family’s presence at the show with two aircraft from Airbus’s single-aisle line.
CFM admits it would like to have seen its A320neo airframe displayed, but states that the decision lay with Airbus, adding: “It’s not our call – it’s not our aeroplane.”
P&W, similarly states that Airbus is the customer for its engine and that, as the supplier, it leaves the choice to bring the aircraft with the airframer. It adds that it has identified the problem with the PW1100G, which it has traced to a manufacturing procedure error on a batch of retaining rings for the combustor, and expects to redeliver modified powerplants to Airbus by the end of June.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
