Airbus ACJ TwoTwenty creates new biz jet category
The presentation this week of the new Airbus ACJ TwoTwenty, the corporate version of the Airbus A220 airlines was interesting on several levels.
First and foremost, if Airbus delivers on its promises, this is going to be a formidable competitor for the extra large business jets currently in the market, such as the Gulfstream G650 and G700 or the Bombardier Global 6500 (ironically, the A220 was originally developed by Bombardier as the CSeries!)
Rather than as a smaller sibling of the ACJ A319/320, the ACJ TwoTwenty is actually being positioned as an extra large business jet. Its value proposition: thrice the cabin space than the higher end purpose built business jets with a similar range and slightly cheaper to purchase and to operate.
True, these high end business jets still beat the TwoTwenty when it comes to range and speed, but when most major city pairs are already within reach and with speed remaining in the high subsonic range, it is debatable how much does this ultimately matter to most potential customers.
In this regard, it seems that, besides the performance indicators, a strong focus is on the “habitability” of the plane, with a significantly larger cabin and less noise than comparable aircraft (can attest the latter from my own experience flying the A220!)
With this aim, Airbus has enrolled Comlux into this project. The Zürich-based executive aviation operator will not only become the launch customer of the TwoTwenty, taking the first two of the type, but plays also a prominent role in as far as the cabin experience is involved.
The first 15 airframes are going to have the cabin fitted at Comlux’s technical center in Indianapolis. In a conversation ahead of the TwoTwenty launch Comlux’s CEO Richard Gaona confirmed that customers will be able to choose between 80 different combinations of cabin interior.
Up to 18 passengers are going to have six different cabin areas at their disposal, including a bedroom and bathroom, if so wishes the customer. And Ku-band internet connectivity that, Airbus sources assured will be twice as fast as equivalent solutions currently in the market, although the provider was not named.
With this offering, Airbus targets a considerably larger market - c. 2,000 aircraft - than the, admittedly more restricted segment, its ACJ “Bizliners” (corporate versions of airliners) were in until now.
By the way, if interested in executive aviation, I recommend you check these two recent podcasts about the topic: