Airbus A320neo Takes Its First Flight, Will Fly for American in 2017

TOULOUSE, France (TheStreet) -- The first flight of the Airbus A320neo on Thursday went smoothly, and has airlines eagerly awaiting the first delivery, expected in the fourth quarter of a2015. The launch customer is Qatar Airways. Lufthansa, an early customer, has ordered 115 neos and expects its first delivery in 2016. Most of those planes will be deployed at Lufthansa and sister carrier SWISS. a American , which operates the world's largest Airbus fleet, will take its first delivery in 2017. American has orders for 100 aircraft. Ten are expected in 2017, with 25 in 2018 and 65 in 2019. JetBlue expects its first A320neo in 2018. Must Read:aAmerican Honors PSA, the Model for Southwest Airlines This summer, American selected CFM's LEAP 1-A engine to power its 100 aircraft.a Aerospace consultant Scott Hamilton said airlines will welcome the neo. "Anytime you get an airplane that will reduce fuel costs by 15% to 20%, that makes a huge difference to airlines, which measure profits by pennies," he said. Must Read: American Air Flight Attendants Got $13 Million More, Thanks to Delta Hamilton said he "knows of no reason" why the plane, a derivative of the existing A320, will not be delivered on time. It's far easier to deliver a derivative on time than to deliver a brand new airplane type on time, he noted. The eagerly awaited first delivery of the Boeing 787 was three years late. "Airbus has now shown that everything is going to plan," Nico Buchholz, executive vice president for Lufthansa Group fleet management said Thursday in a prepared statement. Lufthansa's board first approved an A320neo order in March 2011 and has been upping the quantity since then.aOn Sept. 19, it added 15 aircraft to its order. Besides the reduction in fuel usage, the aircraft produces less noise, Lufthansa said. Must Read: American Honors America West, the Airline That Took Over the World The first A320neo flight took off from Toulouse, France, Thursday afternoon and flew for two hours. Airbus said the flight "marks the beginning of a rigorous flight test campaign involving eight aircraft involving all models" of the A320 family of aircraft. Airbus has more than 3,200 orders from 60 airlines for the airplane. Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte, N.C. To contact this writer, click here. Follow @tedreednc a

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