LONDON – Aviation Capital Group (ACG) has announced the delivery of an Airbus A321neo to Chile-carrier jetSMART. The delivery is part of a three aircraft long-term lease agreement between the lessor and jetSMART. The newest A321neo will be the second one in jetSMART’s fleet.
3-aircraft deal
Chilean carrier jetSMART (JA) has taken delivery of its second A321neo, marking this delivery the first delivered A321neo of their three-aircraft long-term lease agreement with international aircraft lessor Aviation Capital Group, otherwise known as “ACG”.
The Pratt & Whitney PW1133G-JM powered A321neo is registered CC-AWS. The A321neo incorporates new generation state-of-the-art engines and aerodynamically advanced Sharklets, which deliver fuel burn and CO2 emissions equivalent to 20% less than its predecessor, the A321ceo, as well as increased noise reduction, which in this case is 50%.
The A321neo – a great scoop for jetSMART?
jetSMART is a Chilean Low-Cost Carrier, and although they operate with a low-cost model, their fleet consists of a great amount of Airbus aircraft, with some of them being really modern aircraft types.
All equipped with 186 economy seats, jetSMART (their subsidiaries included), operates a fleet of 11 Airbus A320-200ceo, and six state-of-the-art Airbus A320neo.
The A320neo in comparison to its predecessor, the A320ceo, offers just the same key features as the A321neo aircraft that jetSMART are now taking deliveries of.
Their A320neo’s are fitted with Sharklets, as is standard on newer Airbus narrowbodies, and are also powered by Pratt & Whitney engines, which generate a significantly less amount of fuel and CO2 emissions, just as it also reduces noise, making passenger comfort significantly greater.
Though, jetSMART seems to be taking advantage of a mixed fleet in the A320 type, as they recently took delivery of an A320-200ceo in September of this year, according to data from Planespotters.net. They do also however have a further two Airbus A320neos on order which will be delivered at an unspecified time.
The current A321neos of jetSMART carries 240 seats in an all-economy configuration and is all factory new. As with the A320neo series the airline also operates, the key elements of this aircraft type are the engines, sharklets and the reductions in carbon emissions they create compared to previous generation aircraft of the type.
With the ability to carry 54 more passengers than on their A320neo and A320ceo, in a single flight, the A321neo secures a higher passenger number and reduced emissions all at once, something that is possible to have a benefit on jetSMART, as well as every other A321neo operator.
Conclusion
In a world where we aim for sustainability in air travel, more environmentally-friendly aircraft and engines are of course a topic in discussion. Through the years, we’ve seen roll-outs of the Boeing 737 MAX, A320neo family and now even the A321neo XLR, which is set to be used for extra long-range operations.
The A321neo is an aircraft that is becoming more common for airline operations over great distances, on both transcontinental and transatlantic flights. Example operators who utilize A321neo for transatlantic operations are JetBlue (B6), SAS (SK), Aer Lingus (EI) and Air Transat (TS).
All in all, the A321neo is an increasingly popular aircraft which delivers both enhanced passenger comfort and reduced footprints. These are just some of the factors as to why the A321neo might be a scoop for jetSMART.
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