Story ID: 
ACJ319neo Crew Sets Longest-flight Mark
By: Jerry Siebenmark
Caption: The record-setting flight came just two days after first flight of the ACJ319neo.
Word Count: 199
Just two days after making its maiden flight, Airbus Corporate Jets’ first ACJ319neo completed a 16-hour, 10-minute test flight that set a new record for the longest A320-family flight by an Airbus crew, the European airframer announced today. On April 26, the CFM Leap-1A-powered aircraft departed Toulouse, France, on a roundtrip flight to northern Greenland, which included a simulated diversion under 180-minute ETOPS rules, for which the A320 airliner family is certified.

“We want to fly customers to their destination using the quickest routes, as well as delivering unsurpassed comfort and service, and it’s impressive to see such long-range capability at first hand,” K5 Aviation CEO and chief pilot, and flight participant Erik Scheidt said. Germany-based K5 will take delivery of the airplane following its flight trials.

The airplane is a derivative of Airbus’s commercial A319neo and is differentiated by five additional center fuel tanks and the option of choosing between two powerplants: the CFM Leap or Pratt & Whitney's PW1100G. It has a maximum range of 6,749 nm (12,500 km) with eight passengers, and a lower average cabin altitude of 6,400 ft (1,951 m) at its maximum ceiling of 39,000 feet.