Citilink’s first new Airbus A320neo arrives in Indonesia

Garuda Indonesia’s low-cost subsidiary, Citilink, has begun welcoming a new fleet of Airbus A320 new engine option (neo) aircraft from the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France.

Citilink has ordered 35 aircraft from the European manufacturer since it developed the new version in 2012. The 180-passenger capacity A320neo will join 45 aircraft of the previous model, the A320 current engine option (ceo), which Citilink already owns.

The delivery will be completed by 2021. This year, Citilink will receive five aircraft.

“We will use them for medium-length routes like to Eastern Indonesia, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and to Shanghai,” Citilink acting president director and finance director Mega Satria said during the welcome ceremony at the Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF) AeroAsia Workshop in Cengkareng, Banten, on Friday.

According to Airbus data, the A320neo features two engine options, Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1100G-JM and CFM International’s LEAP-1A. Citilink’s aircraft use the latter. Along with improvements to airframe and winglets, fuel efficiency has been increased by 15 percent compared to the A320ceo.

As of January, Airbus had received 5,069 orders of the new aircraft since it began production in January 2016. German airline Lufthansa was the first to receive one on Jan. 20 last year.