The first thing to know about the A320neo is that the ‘neo’ means, new engine option. The engines are more efficient on the A320neo, but that’s not the only thing that’s different. The plane is lighter and has aerodynamic improvements. It has larger curved winglets and bigger overhead storage bins. It also has nine more seats on the aircraft than the current A320 which means that the A320neo consumes 20% less fuel per seat.
Of course, Airbus is also building the A319neo, which has four more seats and the A321neo, which has twenty more seats than the current version. The maiden flight for A320neo was on September 25th 2014 in Toulouse, France, but Airbus started the planning for this plane in 2006 as an enhanced version of A320. They planned improvements to the engines and other parts of the plane. They created new winglets, now called ‘sharklets’, which they started to use in 2012.
The most obvious change to the cabin is the larger overhead storage bins for passengers and (optionally) the ability to change the colour of the cabin lighting. There are also improvements to the air purification system, and weight reductions in the galley.
So far, Airbus has more than 3,000 orders for the aircraft and it might become their best selling aircraft ever. The company hopes to deliver over 4,000 A320neos over 15 years and it is already the fastest selling commercial plane in history.
Exercise
To practice your speaking, you should try to talk about the new A320neo for between 60 – 90 seconds. Record yourself speaking and listen to it. Can you hear any simple mistakes that you know are incorrect? Try recording it again, did you improve your speaking the 2nd time?