Garuda Signs Paris MOU for 15 Airbus A320s, 10 A320neos

Garuda Indonesia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Airbus to order 25 A320-family aircraft, including 15 standard A320s and 10 A320neo aircraft for operation by the carrier’s domestic low-cost unit Citilink.

The deal, announced at the Paris Airshow on June 21, will make Garuda Indonesia a new customer for the Airbus A320 family and low-cost unit Citilink will use the A320-family jets to replace its existing fleet of four Boeing 737-300s and three 737-400s.

While Garuda Indonesia hasn’t officially announced its engine selection for the A320s and A320neos, the computer graphic images supplied by Airbus for the MOU announcement show an A320 powered by IAE V2500 engines and an A320neo powered by Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1100G engines.

Garuda Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding on June 21, 2011 at the Paris Airshow covering an order for 15 A320s and in the future 10 A320neos. The aircraft will be operated by Garuda's low-cost unit Citlink, which will use its A320-family jets to replace its existing fleet of four Boeing 737-300s and three 737-400s

“The A320 will be a new addition to the Garuda family and has been selected after a very thorough and lengthy evaluation process,” says Emirsyah Satar, president and CEO of Garuda Indonesia. “The combination of comfort for passengers, proven reliability for high frequency services and low operating costs made the A320 the clear favorite to enable Citilink to develop its full potential in the competitive low-cost market.”

Airbus says that, because of the A320neo’s new engines and its large sharklet wing-tip devices, the A320neo will deliver fuel savings of 15 per cent and additional range capability of 500 nautical miles (950 kilometers), or the ability to carry two tonnes more payload at a given range, compared with the existing A320.

Garuda Indonesia's low-cost unit Citilink will eventually operate 10 Airbus A320neo-family jets, as a result of a memorandum of understanding signed by Garuda at the Paris Airshow on June 21, 2011. The MOU covers orders for 15 A320s as well as the 10 A320neos. All will be operated by Citilink

For the environment, the fuel savings translate into some 3,600 tonnes less CO2 per aircraft per year. In addition, the A320neo will provide a double-digit reduction in NOx emissions and reduced engine noise, according to Airbus.

The A320neo family will have airframe commonality of more than 95 per cent with the existing models, enabling it to fit seamlessly into existing A320-family fleets, Airbus says. The new engines types offered on the A320neo are CFM International’s LEAP-X and Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1100G.