Neo narrowbodies

Has the Airbus A320neo stolen a march?

Airbus’s decision to bring forward the planned entry into service of its A320neo (new engine option) between six and 12 months to October 2015 has raised the temperature in the hotly contested single aisle market, and has left its competitors – particularly Boeing and Bombardier – with ground to make up.

Boeing is yet to decide on what it will do to answer the challenge of the Neo – whether it will persist with the current 737NG, making small incremental improvements until new technologies allow for an all-new replacement in the early to mid-2020s – or whether it too will also go down the re-engine path. Bombardier has sold no C-Series single aisles since the Neo was announced, even though some analysts believe the CS300 in particular is a natural replacement for the smaller A319 and 737-700s, even in re-engined form.