The initial ACJ319neo completed a 16-hour 10-minute test flight on 26 April, setting a new record for the longest A320 Family flight by an Airbus crew. The previous record was set by a 15-hour 15-minute Santiago-Paris trip, flown by an ACJ319 in 1999.
An endurance trial, this new record flight included a simulated diversion under 180-minute ETOPS rules as the jet flew from Toulouse to northern Greenland and back; the A320 airliner family is already certificated for 180-minute ETOPS.
The aircraft will be delivered to K5 Aviation after flight trials are complete. K5 Aviation CEO and Chief Pilot Erik Scheidt, who participated in the flight, commented: “It’s impressive to see such long-range capability at first hand.”
In addition to the new engines and wingtip-mounted Sharklets of the A320neo airliner family, K5’s ACJ319neo features five additional centre tanks in its cargo hold.