Story ID: 
Comlux Delivers Second Completed ACJ TwoTwenty Bizjet
By: Charles Alcock
Caption: The second ACj is part of an order for 15 that will be completed at Comlux
Word Count: 779
Comlux on Monday delivered the second of 15 Airbus ACJ TwoTwentys it is completing for private buyers at its Indianapolis completions center. In December, the facility received the third green aircraft from Airbus’ Montreal assembly line, and it is due to get the fourth airframe later this week.
Completion of the second ACJ TwoTwenty has been finished within eight months of the first delivery last year. Comlux chair and CEO Richard Gaona said the third aircraft should be ready for delivery by the end of 2024 under its exclusive completions agreement with Airbus.
This week, Comlux also announced a new partnership with Pratt & Whitney covering maintenance for the ACJ TwoTwenty’s PW1500G geared turbofans. The manufacturer will now provide support packages for ACJ and Comlux customers covering the engines.
“In private aviation, customers like to have a full support package for their aircraft operation,” said Comlux Aviation CEO Andrea Zanetto. “Airbus offering such an option for the airframe, Comlux for the cabin, and this collaboration with Pratt & Whitney is the complement we need to make all customers comfortable when buying the ACJ TwoTwenty.”
Using the ACJ TwoTwenty cabin configuration tool, customers can work with Comlux designers to choose from more than 80 different interior options to install across the jet's six interior zones. For example, in the rear section, customers can opt for a full-size bed or a pair of couches facing each other. Overall floor space is 786 sq ft.
A Class Apart from Airliner Bijzets
“The ACJ TwoTwenty is not addressing the same market as [airliner-class business jets like] the BBJ Select,” Gaona told AIN. “Fully equipped, [the ACJ] sells in the low $80 million completed, compared with more than $100 million, and with its performance being close to that of Globals and Gulfstreams it is a more interesting upper-end product.”
Comlux’s involvement with the TwoTwenty goes back to the aircraft's origins with Bombardier as the CSeries. When the program was acquired by Airbus Corporate Jets, the European airframer turned to Comlux to develop the cabin design and handle all aspects of its certification. It designed the cabin with 3D technology and works in tandem with 10 specialist suppliers.
The first three TwoTwentys do not feature the auxiliary fuel tanks that support its maximum range of up to 5,650 nm. This feature is still being certified by Transport Canada and is expected to be standard equipment from the fourth aircraft onwards.
Comlux will retrofit the tanks to the earlier aircraft as it prepares to expand throughput in the Indianapolis completions center from three to four jets in 2025 to an eventual six units. The third aircraft is set to be delivered during the third quarter of this year.
“Our latest ACJ TwoTwenty is a game changer on the extra-large business jet market, bringing a unique value proposition with best-in-class comfort, and intercontinental range,” said Airbus Corporate Jets president Chadi Saade. “ACJ is connecting business and communities across the world, with unmatched economics support by state-of-the-art aircraft and cabin technologies.”
Lower Operating Costs in Service
According to Gaona, the TwoTwenty has proved to be a popular addition to its management and charter fleet. It already operates the first aircraft for a client and will provide the same service for at least the next two. These operate alongside its fleet of larger VIP ACJs and BBJs. “Because the TwoTwenty comes straight from the airline world, it has far lower cost of operations, including factors like pilot training and the engines,” he said.
Gaona observed some shifts in demand for VIP ultra-large-cabin private jets. “The situation with the [Boeing] Max 8 and 9 aircraft has made some BBJ clients think twice,” he commented. “If they won’t buy the BBJ, some owners will take their older aircraft and spend $10 million or so on new inflight entertainment, satcoms, carpets, etc.”
According to Comlux, this trend is fueling demand for its refurbishment business. Gaona has seen consolidation in the market post-Covid on the basis that “those who did not have business in the pipe before the pandemic suffered, and since then, the number of completion centers has gone down from around ten to just four or five.”
The immediate post-Covid period saw an extraordinary bounceback in Comlux’s aircraft operations. Between July and December 2021, its revenues were greater than they had been for the whole of the pre-pandemic year of 2019. Gaona said that his decision not to lay off crew members and put aircraft in storage has proved to be vindicated, and 2023 proved to be a strong year for charter demand.