Airbus Changes A320neo Launch Partner

The first delivery of the new A320neo passenger jet from European aircraft maker Airbus had been set to go to launch customer Qatar Airways by the end of this month. On Monday Airbus said that Deutsche Lufthansa would replace Qatar Airways as the launch customer for the new plane.

In a statement cited at MarketWatch, Airbus said it had reached a “mutual understanding” that Lufthansa would be the first customer for the A320neo, a re-engined version of the company’s best-selling narrow-body A320 that is touted to provide a 15% improvement in fuel efficiency.

Airbus had promised that first delivery of the A320neo would occur by the end of 2015, but Qatar Airways was holding back on accepting delivery of the new plane as a result of some start-up issues with the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM engines. Pratt & Whitney is a division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX). The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last month certified the P&W engine, clearing the way for the A320neo to meet the first delivery by the end of this year.
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Lufthansa has ordered 101 of the A320neo and 40 more of the slightly larger A321neo. The Germany-based airline is also the launch customer for Bombardier’s CSeries passenger jets, a competitor to the A320 and the 737 family from Boeing.

And speaking of Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA), the first 737 MAX-8 rolled off the final assembly line last week and is scheduled to begin test flights early next year. The first delivery of the plane is scheduled for the third quarter of 2017 to launch customer Southwest Airlines.