TAM Airlines, Airbus’ biggest customer in the Southern Hemisphere and Brazil’s largest airline, signed a firm order for 25 eco-efficient Airbus aircraft, bringing the Brazilian airline’s total Airbus order book to 176. This order for 20 A320 Family and five A350-900s follows the Memorandum of Understanding announced at ILA Berlin Air Show in June.
TAM’s new A320 Family aircraft will replace existing A320 Family aircraft as part of the airline’s commitment to keep an average fleet age of six years. Both the A320 Family and A350 XWB fleet will serve the carrier’s existing routes and boost eco-efficiency. “We have the commitment to offer our customers one of the youngest fleets in the world of aviation,” said Líbano Barroso, CEO of TAM Airlines.
As of today, TAM's total Airbus orders have increased to 134 A320 Family aircraft, 15 A330-200s and 27 A350 XWB. 65 Airbus A320 Family aircraft, two A330-200s and 27 A350 XWB are still in the backlog.
"We are extremely pleased with TAM’s continued confidence in Airbus, and appreciate the great partnership we have established over the past decade,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “The A320 Family is recognized as being the most modern and efficient single-aisle aircraft around, and through continuous investments the best keeps getting better. TAM’s repeat order underlines this aircraft’s leadership position in the market.”
Today more than 370 Airbus aircraft are flying with 23 Latin American airline customers and operators, representing more than 40 percent of the fleet in service. With TAM being the biggest customer, more than 500 Airbus aircraft have been sold in the region, which enjoys a record backlog of more than 200 aircraft.
The A320 Family (A318, A319, A320 and A321) is recognised as the benchmark single-aisle aircraft family. With over 6,500 aircraft sold, and more than 4,300 aircraft delivered to some 310 customers and operators worldwide, the A320 Family is the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family. With 99.7 per cent reliability and extended servicing periods, the A320 Family has the lowest operating costs of any single aisle aircraft. Uniquely, the A320 Family offers a containerized cargo system, which is compatible with the worldwide standard wide-body system.
The A350 XWB Family is Airbus’ response to widespread market demand for a series of highly efficient medium-capacity long-range wide-body aircraft. The A350 has the widest fuselage in its category, offering unprecedented levels of comfort, the lowest operating costs and lowest seat mile cost of any aircraft in this market segment. After today’s announcement, orders for the aircraft stand at 535 from 34 customers.
Source: Airbus