TAP Air Portugal receives its first A321
Toulouse, 11 September 2000
TAP Air Portugal has taken delivery in Hamburg of its first A321 single-aisle aircraft, which will join a fleet of 16 A319s and seven A320s already in service with the Lisbon-based carrier. A second A321 is scheduled for delivery in early 2001.
Seating a maximum of 194 passengers in a two-class configuration, TAP's A321 features up to 42 seats in Executive class and 152 in Economy, and is powered by two CFM56 engines from CFM International. TAP will operate the aircraft on its European network, alongside its fleet of A319s and A320s, taking advantage of the unmatched commonality between members of the Airbus single-aisle Family. The A321 will be deployed on routes such as Paris, London, Frankfurt or Rome, thus allowing TAP to benefit from the lowest operating costs in this aircraft category. In TAP's configuration, the A319 and the A320 can accommodate 132 and 156 passengers, respectively
The Airbus A320 Family, which includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321, offers the widest fuselage in this category, enabling passengers to benefit from wider seats and aisles. The members of this aircraft family share maximum commonality and can be flown by the same pilots, reducing training and maintenance costs for airlines and maximizing operational flexibility.
TAP, which will operate an all-Airbus fleet in the near future, flies a fleet of four ultra-long range A340-300s on its intercontinental services. This four-engine member of the A330/A340 Family shares a common design philosophy with the A320 Family with similar flight deck, systems and fly-by-wire controls. For its medium-long range operations, the Portuguese flag carrier also operates five widebody-twin A310s.
To date, the Airbus A320 Family has won nearly 2,500 orders from over 100 customers, of which some 1,270 are in service with 94 operators worldwide, making it the industry's most successful aircraft family.
Börsenkurse
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