Brief History of Airbus A319
The Airbus A319 is a shortened-fuselage variant of the Airbus A320. The aircraft did its first flight in 1995. It formally entered into the service in April 1996 with Swissair. The official launch came somewhat around two years after the stretched Airbus A321 and eight years after the original A320. American Airlines had the highest number (131) of this variant till August 2019. The A319 belongs to the A320 Family of Airbus.
Read more Airbus A320 – The Game Changer (Part -I)
Airbus A319 Portfolio
The A319 shares a common type rating; therefore, it is highly beneficial for all the A320 family pilots to fly the aircraft without further training. A unique advantage available to the aircrew members flying these aircraft. The final assembly of the aircraft is taking place in Hamburg, Germany, and Tianjin, China.
Fuselage Structure of Airbus A319
The A319 is primarily a shrunken version of the A320. Since A320 is the baseline of A319 therefore, it is also known as a derivative of A320. Due to structural changes, it was also known as the A320-7. The OEM (Airbus) has reduced seven frames in the fuselage of this variant. Four frames before the wings and three frames after the wings.
The ‘Minus seven’ means here a reduced number of frames. This change also reduced the number of overwing exits from four to two. This is the most prominent difference between the A319 and A320. For the A319, Airbus was actually competing with the Boeing 737-300 / 700.
Power Plant and Flight Control System
The A319 is powered by CFM56-5A or V2500-A5 engines. The same series of engines are being used on the A320 and A321 aircraft. All the A320 Families and subsequent families are equipped with the Flywire control system integrated with an onboard flight computer system. A319 follows the same suite.
Read more Airbus Commercial Aircraft Division
Performance
The A319 is a short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger. It can carry 124-156 passengers on board in twin class configuration (Business and Economy). The A319 also comes in ‘ceo’ and ‘neo’ options. The older versions are the CEO and likewise. The A319 CEO has a maximum range of 6900 km. For an aircraft of this size, it is quite an effective range required for short-haul flights. The new variant of A319 also has some modifications done at its wings, just like the A320 and A321 neo.
Variants of Airbus A319
Airbus A319CJ
The A319CJ (rebranded ACJ319) is the corporate jet version of the A319. The aircraft can accommodate up to 39 passengers. It may be customized into any configuration by the customer’s wish and desires. Most of these variants are being used as Business jets. The aircraft has removed extra fuel tanks (up to 6 Additional Center Tanks) installed in the cargo compartment by reducing the passenger count. The range of the aircraft increases to 11,100 km if passenger numbers are reduced to eight with the auxiliary fuel tanks (ACTs) installed. It is also known as the ACJ (Airbus Corporate Jets). The ACJ is also the official presidential aircraft for several countries around the world.
Airbus A319 MPA
The Airbus A319 MPA (Maritime Patrol Aircraft) is a military derivative of the Airbus A319. Airbus Defence and Space announced the development of the A319MPA in 2018. The aim of launching this aircraft was to support the navies in the seas. The aircraft is equipped with advanced electronic warfare, reconnaissance, and surveillance systems onboard. In reality, A319 MPA was a direct competition against the Boeing P-8 Poseidon. The P-8 is a derivative aircraft of the Boeing 737.
Read more Airbus and its Global Partnerships
Airbus A319 LR
The A319LR is the longer-range version of the A319. The typical range of the A319LR is increased up to 4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km) compared to the standard A319 (max 6900 km). Qatar Airways was the first customer of the A319-100 LRs.
The Nut Shell Experience
To summarize, Airbus A319 is a jet that offers absolutely everything a commercial jet can – reliability, range, speed, cabin space – and much more. For those who have the opportunity or have the resources to travel in an A319 CJ, luxurious travel to any destination in the world is a dream come true!
Written by guest writer, Faisal Bashir
