An ACJ320neo takes flight.
Airbus launched the A319 Airbus Corporate Jetliner—a 6,000 nm-range conversion of its A319 narrowbody airliner—at the 1997 Paris Air Show. Launch customer Mohammed Abdulmohsin Al-Kharafi & Sons of Kuwait specified a 30-passenger cabin “with a mixed layout for VIPs and guests,” Aviation Week reported at the time. Jet Aviation of Switzerland completed the aircraft, which was delivered to the Kuwaiti company in November 1999.
Since it first entered the corporate aviation field in response to Boeing’s reimagination of the 737 as the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ), Airbus has produced Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJs) across its portfolio of narrow- and widebody airliners, from A318s through A350s. (The A318 and A340 are no longer in production.) The European airframer unveiled the latest member of the family—the ACJ TwoTwenty conversion of its A220-100 airliner—in October 2020. Derived from the Bombardier CSeries program that Airbus took control of in 2018, TwoTwentys are assembled in Mirabel, Canada.
The ACJ TwoTwenty figures prominently in the future of Airbus Corporate Jets. At the NBAA-BACE conference in October, the company said it is expanding its sales and marketing efforts in the U.S., where it sees a growth and replacement market for 1,200 bizjets and bizliners.
“The goal for ACJ is to penetrate the U.S. market with its latest new-generation corporate aircraft, the ACJ TwoTwenty,” said Sean McGeough, ACJ North America vice president, commercial. “We strongly believe that the ACJ TwoTwenty is a game changer, as it is a new value proposition to business aviation buyers.”
ACJ319 Dominates Mix
The world in-service fleet of ACJs consisted of 136 aircraft as of November, according to the Aviation Week Fleet Discovery Database. The ACJ319 dominated the mix with 69 of the types delivered, followed by the ACJ320 (23), ACJ318 (20), ACJ340 (8), ACJ330 (7), ACJ350 (4), ACJ321 (3) and ACJ220 (2).
UK-based Acropolis Aviation, Comlux Aviation of Switzerland, Dubai flag carrier Emirates, Global Jet of Luxembourg, K5 Aviation of Germany, MasterJet of Portugal and Nomad Aviation of Switzerland are charter operators of ACJ-family jets.
There were four preowned ACJs (318/319/320/321) being offered for sale in November, representing less than 3% of the installed fleet, reported Nadav Kessler, managing director of Hong Kong-based Asian Sky Group, an International Aircraft Dealers Association accredited dealer. This compares to other business jet classes in which the percentage of aircraft on the market was closer to 6% and rising, he said.
A new 6,750-nm-range ACJ319neo with Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1100G or CFM International LEAP-1A turbofans would cost around $100 million-$110 million including the interior completion, which would cost about $30 million-$35 million depending on the level and quality of the selected interior, Kessler said. A 10-year-old ACJ319 generally would sell in the $40 million-$45 million range depending on its specific age and configuration; a comparable ACJ318 would fetch around $30 million.
The classic ACJ319 competes for sales against BBJ1, which is based on the Boeing 737-700. The ACJ320 has more space but less range (4,950 nm) than the BBJ2 (5,644 nm), based on the 737-800. The 5,650-nm-range ACJ220, Airbus’ “Xtra Large Bizjet,” challenges traditional large-cabin, long-range business jets on price ($78 million), but offers twice more interior space (786 sq. ft. of floor space, six zones accommodating 16 passengers) than competing bizjets, the company says.
“From an operating perspective, the ACJ project is known for its reliability, robustness (durability over high hours and cycles) and maintenance support given airline type commonality, which leads to increased flight availability,” Kessler said. “The general operating costs are lower or comparable to those of a long-range business jet; ACJs are certainly heavier and therefore burn more fuel, but the maintenance costs are known to be lower.”
“From a pilot perspective,” Kessler added, “flying an ACJ that is part of the same A320 commercial family gives pilots good flexibility in terms of building experience and moving up within the same type-rating category. In terms of actual piloting, pilots commend the flight deck ergonomics, reliable and proven performance, latest technology enabling good decision making and efficient management systems for operational optimization.”
Customized Cabins
ACJs are highly customized with varying floor plans. A common floor plan for an ACJ319 would include a large forward galley, a crew rest area, a main lounge, a conference group section and a master bedroom, with spacious lavatories and sometimes a shower, Kessler said. The number of passenger seats will usually be 18, unless an entourage area is required or if the owner decides to opt for a lower density configuration.
“The level of comfort offered by the ACJ family has made them a dominant player in the charter space given the convenience of being able to fly groups for long distances in extra comfort, without feeling in any way crowded,” Kessler said.
Operating costs vary depending on the specific type. An annual budget for a 10-year-old ACJ319, assuming 500 flight hours per year, would average out at approximately $7,000 per flight hour, Kessler said. The cost is lower for newer and more efficient A319neos, which given their age have not reached major maintenance milestones, he added.
BCAʼs 2022 Operations Planning Guide estimates ACJ319neo direct costs of $67,198 for a 6,000 nm mission—near its max range of 6,750 nm with eight passengers—based on a nationwide average Jet-A fuel cost of $6.94 per gallon at the time of publication. Direct costs include mission fuel consumed, maintenance labor, parts and reserve costs apportioned to the actual flight time for the mission length.
Maintenance Support
MROs Comlux Completions, of Indianapolis; Sabena technics in Bordeaux, France; Jet Aviation in Dubai and Basel, Switzerland; and HAECO Private Jet Solutions in Xiamen, China, provide ACJ line, light and heavy maintenance support, cabin refurbishments and cabin/system upgrades. In October 2022, Comlux laid claim to being the first member of the ACJ Service Center Network approved to work on the ACJ TwoTwenty. The U.S. company took delivery of the first ACJ TwoTwenty for cabin completion earlier in the year for delivery in 2023 to Dubai-based luxury hotel group Five.
“For the ACJ320 family the maintenance intervals are six months for smaller checks and two years for larger C checks and then a major 12-year large inspection,” Kessler advised. “Airbus has also recently developed a low-utilization maintenance program catering and differentiating ACJs from the airliners, with annual A checks and then C checks every following three years (a less frequent schedule).”
BCA welcomes comment and insight from aircraft dealers and brokers for its monthly 20/Twenty pre-owned aircraft market feature. The focus aircraft for December 2022 is the Piper M350. The Cessna Citation CJ4 will be featured in January 2023. To participate, contact [email protected].
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