Airbus CJ Orders Build to 12; Flight Tests Soon

Airbus has increased the number of commitments for the corporate jet version of its A319 transport to 12. The first aircraft is off the assembly line and is being readied for its maiden flight.

Four A319CJs, as the corporate version is called, are in some phase of production now, with first flight scheduled for early May 1999, according to Paul Mason, Airbus commercial operations VP. About 70 hours of test flying is planned, with first handover to an outfitting center in late July. Long-range fuel tanks will be installed at Airbus partner facilities in Hamburg, Germany.

The first A319CJ is scheduled to be handed over to a customer in November 1999. The initial four aircraft should be delivered by the end of 2000, Mason said. The company declined to break down the number of firm orders from letters of intent and other commitments for the A319CJ, saying it was a part of the natural order progression to move from a letter of intent to more binding contractual agreements.

Sales of the A319CJ so far have been distributed between the three major market sectors: government, VIP and corporate customers. Airbus reserves the right to assign engine type, except under compelling circumstances, based on the best deal it can secure from engine manufacturers, Mason said. The A319CJ is powered by either the GE/Snecma CFM56-5 or the International Aero Engines' V2500.

The European transport-manufacturing consortium has reserved a "certain percentage" of its A319 airliner production to the corporate jet version to ensure continued availability and near term deliveries, Mason said. The company also has authorized three completion centers-Associated Air Center, Jet Aviation and Lufthansa Technik-as A319CJ outfitting centers. These and four other major maintenance bases worldwide also are in negotiations to become A319CJ service centers.

Ultimately, Airbus would like to achieve about a 12-unit-per-year production rate for the A319CJ-approximately 50% of the world market for airliner-based business jets, Mason said. The company would be happy, however, with as few as four sales per year, he said. List price of the A319CJ is about $35 million, with outfitting adding another $4 million to $10 million. Airbus also is willing to manage the entire outfitting process for customers and has developed six standard layouts and 17 modules for the A319CJ to speed completion work.

Airbus is touting several advantages over the competing Boeing Business Jet, including its eight-inch greater cabin width at shoulder height. This allows a stand-up side aisle to be placed adjacent to a well-sized office or bedroom. The A319CJ also has an outward cargo door that doesn't have to be removed, allowing quick (24-hour) change-out of underfloor fuel tanks "to tailor range to the mission," Mason said. The BBJ's inward-opening cargo door has to be detached to remove fuel tanks.

The A319CJ also has Cat 3B low visibility landing capability and, because it is almost unchanged from the standard airliner conversion, has a better resale value than the BBJ, Mason said. A four-bogey main landing gear option, now used in India, allows the aircraft to land at shorter runways. The difference means the A319CJ can get into over 1,000 more short runways than the BBJ worldwide, Mason said.

Airbus also addressed corporate flight department concerns with two specialized maintenance programs, one for aircraft flying less than 1,000 hours annually and the other for those flying about 3,000 hours a year. Mason also pointed out that Airbus is familiar with servicing small operators, with almost 50% of its single-aisle customers operating less than four aircraft.

The A319CJ has a range of 6,300 nmi with eight executives on board. The first available delivery position is in 2000.

By Paul Proctor