Airbus Deliver's First Sharklet Equipped A320 to AirAsia

Sharklet and AirAsia Livery Airbus delivered the first A320 equipped with Sharklets today to AirAsia, which becomes the first operator ...

Sharklet and AirAsia Livery

Airbus delivered the first A320 equipped with Sharklets today to AirAsia, which becomes the first operator of the new fuel-saving large wing tip devices. Sharklets are an option on new-build A320 Family aircraft, and are standard on all members of the A320neo Family.
Sharklets are made from light-weight composites and are 2.4 metres tall. These newly designed wing-tip devices reduce fuel burn and emissions by improving theaerodynamics of the aircraft significantly.
Cutting airlines’ fuel bills by around four percent, Sharklets will offer the flexibility to A320 Family operators of either adding around 100 nautical miles more range or allowing increased payload capability of up to 450 kilogrammes.
Due to the very strong customer demand for Sharklets, all Airbus’ single-aisle final assembly lines (FALs) will be engaged in building A320 Family aircraft with Sharklets.These FALs are located in Toulouse (France), Hamburg (Germany) and Tianjin (China) and will soon be followed by an additional A320 FAL in Mobile (Alabama, USA).
AirAsia, the largest low cost airline in Asia is also Airbus’ largest A320 Family airline customer. The carrier recently placed a new order with Airbus on the 13th December 2012 for 100 more A320 Family aircraft including 36 A320ceo aircraft with Sharklets. Altogether, AirAsia has ordered 475 single aisle aircraft from Airbus, comprising 264 A320neo and 211 A320ceo. Over 100 aircraft have already been delivered to the airline and are flying out of its bases in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila and Tokyo.