Spirit Airlines firms up 75 A320 Family order including 45 A320neo

Spirit Airlines has finalised its firm order for 75 Airbus single-aisles including 45 A320neo aircraft (new engine option). The original Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was announced at the 2011 Dubai air show. The airline has not yet announced its engine selection. Spirit's order for 45 A320 neo aircraft was booked in December 2011. The firming up of the additional 30 A320s in January brings the total new firm order to 75.

“For seven years we have been very successfully flying the A320 Family,” said Ben Baldanza, President and CEO of Spirit Airlines. “The aircraft have been successful from every perspective – economy, environmental impact, comfort and efficiency. With more A320s and now the A320neo on their way to Spirit, we look forward to building on all the positives we’ve experienced so far.”

“When these newly ordered aircraft are delivered, the size of Spirit’s Airbus fleet will be close to triple what it is today,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “It’s a high compliment and testament to the growing efficiencies of our single-aisle family when an airline chooses it exclusively to propel their success into the future.”

The new aircraft will be used on Spirit’s growing network of flights in the domestic United States, Caribbean and Latin America

The A320neo is a new engine option for the A320 Family entering service from 2015 and incorporates latest generation engines and large "Sharklet" wing tip devices, which together will deliver 15 percent in fuel savings. This reduction in fuel burn is equivalent to 1.4m liters of fuel – the consumption of 1,000 mid-size cars. This saves 3,600 metric tons of C02 per aircraft per year, the amount absorbed by 240,000 mature trees.

Over 8,300 A320 Family aircraft have been ordered and some 5,000 delivered to more than 340 customers and operators worldwide reaffirming its position as the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family. The A320neo has over 95 percent airframe commonality making it an easy fit into existing fleets while offering up to 500 nautical miles (950 kilometres) more range or two tonnes more payload at a given range.

AIRBUS