The Airbus A319neo is by far the least successful A320neo variant
out there. Overshadowed heavily by the A320neo and A321neo, Airbus has persisted with the aircraft
and continues to describe the aircraft as “game-changing.” So why isn’t it popular?
The successor to the A319ceo, the A319neo traditionally seats about 120 to 150 passengers,
with a maximum of 160 passengers in a high-density layout. The range of the aircraft
is 3,700 nautical miles or 6,850 kilometers. With a 95% commonality with the rest of the
A320 family, the A319neo offers airlines added efficiencies and versatility. This is because
existing A320 pilots do not need to undergo a lot of expensive further training to fly it.
Airbus’ October orders update showed 84 firm orders for the Airbus A319neo. This includes 30
to undisclosed customers, five to governments and private jet fleets, and two to Air Cote D’Ivoire.
The largest A319neo customer, however,
is Spirit Airlines, which has an order for 47 Airbus A319neo aircraft.
Compare this to the 1,486 orders for the A319ceo and the 3,919 firm orders for the A320neo,
and it is clear that the A319neo has vastly underperformed other aircraft
in its family when it comes to sales. Could another Airbus jet be stealing its sales?
Unfortunately, the A220-300 has a little too many similarities with the Airbus A319neo.
For example, this aircraft has a range of up to 3,400 nautical miles or 6,297 kilometers.
Also, the plane seats between 120 and 150 passengers.
In terms of sales, 542 A220-300s have been ordered- over six times what the A319neo has sold.
Another issue with the A319neo is that it is relatively new.
The first A319ceo delivery was in 1996. This makes the oldest aircraft about 24 years old.
However, most A319s flying today are in the neighborhood of 15 to 20 years old,
meaning that they still have quite a few years of life left in them.
Take the world’s largest operator of the Airbus A319 as an example. Data from Planespotters.net
shows that American Airlines’ A319s are an average of only 16.6 years old. Meanwhile, United’s A319s,
are under 19 years old. The easyJet group, which has 106 A319s across its fleet,
has an average A319 fleet age of 12.7 years. We bring all of this up to point out that
airlines still have a bit of room to go before the A319s need to be replaced.
Therefore, it is not surprising that carriers have not picked up orders for the A319neo.
In the next few years, there’s a decent chance that some airlines will turn to the A319neo–
especially those that have the A320neo or A321neo on order.
For now, however, the A319neo holds a place in Airbus’ lineup as a low-seller.
Do you think sales for the A319neo will pick up? Let us know in the comments!