Story ID: GPneorollout07012014
Airbus Assembles First A320neo
By: Gregory Polek
Caption: The first A320neo rolled out of its paint hangar in Toulouse on July 1.
Word Count: 135
Airbus has finished assembling the first A320neo, the company announced Tuesday. The airplane, MSN6101, rolled out of its paint hangar in Toulouse, France, after receiving its Airbus house livery and installation of its Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM engines. The company started final assembly of the first A320neo in mid-March, with the attachment of the forward and aft fuselage sections, made in Airbus facilities in St. Nazaire, France and Hamburg, Germany, respectively.

Scheduled to become the first A320neo to fly, MSN6101 will soon start its ground tests to prepare for first flight, said Airbus.

Program schedules call for the flight-test campaign for the A320neo to start in September, roughly a year before planned certification and entry into service in the fourth quarter of next year.