Airbus Corporate Jets has won a new commitment for an ACJ320neo from an undisclosed customer. The deal includes turnkey cabin outfitting – a first for the new ACJneo family.

Airbus’ ACJ319neo and ACJ320neo feature new-generation engines, sharklets and a collection of other improvements to deliver most of the benefits of an all-new design. These include better range and a 16 per cent fuel saving, combined with the best corporate jet cabin in the sky.

Turnkey cabin-outfittings, managed by Airbus on behalf of customers, deliver peace of mind for aircraft performance, as well as the interior. Airbus leads the top-end of the market in turnkeys, having successfully completed more than 70 with a variety of cabin-outfitters.

“Combining our new aircraft family with unrivalled turnkey experience is a win-win for Airbus corporate jet customers, enabling them to plan for a better future with confidence,” comments Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers John Leahy. 

The ACJ320neo can fly 25 passengers 6,000 nm/11,400 km or more than 13 hours, while the ACJ319neo can transport eight passengers 6,750 nm/12,500 km or more than 15 hours.

This impressive performance is underpinned by new technologies that are standard in all of the modern Airbus aircraft family in production today. These include the simplicity and protection of fly-by-wire controls, today’s industry standard in next-generation corporate jets, plus the practical benefits of time and cost-saving centralised maintenance.

Airbus Corporate Jets has combined its knowledge of customer preferences with a fresh approach to cabin design, creating a new cabin concept for its ACJ320neo family.

Called Melody, it features flowing lines inspired by the curves of nature, such as hilly horizons, rolling rivers and desert dunes. These flowing lines are represented in both the main pathway through the cabin and the curved walls of zones within it.

The new concept also focuses on providing a more attractive environment that is both quieter and better adapted to providing sound and vision in a “home cinema” setting.

“A key feature of Airbus corporate jets is the better travel experience that they deliver – through freedom of movement and enhanced sociability as well as their greater space and comfort – and the new Melody cabin highlights this benefit over traditional business jets,” says Leahy.

While each cabin designer has their own style, there are general principles that most follow, including to start by understanding how a corporate jet will be used, and the lifestyle, tastes and preferences of the customer.

Airbus Corporate Jets’ Head of Creative Design & Concepts, Sylvain Mariat, capitalised on his many discussions with customers over the years – in hotels, homes and offices – to identify shared values, such as the relaxation drawn from nature and quiet and comfortable settings.

He married these values with a forward-looking approach to create the Melody cabin for new aircraft, such as the ACJ320neo, deliveries of which will begin at the end of 2018.

The combination also benefits from new technologies – such as weight-saving carbonfibre in tables and cabinets and the simplification that comes from greater use of wi-fi – to enable delivery of a lighter cabin, and hence to increase aircraft range.

More than 180 Airbus corporate jets are in service around the world, flying with companies, individuals and governments on every continent, including Antarctica.