Proposed business jet brings marries ultra efficiency of new Airbus offering with potentially uber luxurious cabin.
A new airplane design is always an exciting revelation, often striking the proverbial creative match of other great minds. In this vein, the Airbus A220 has evoked fresh interest, evolving a 120-150 passenger airliner to an ultra-modern corporate concept.
The A220 was designed by Bombardier Aerospace and marketed as the CSeries, though the program was later sold to Airbus. It made its first flight in 2013 and awarded type-certification in late 2015. It entered service as a passenger airliner in December 2016.
Conceptually, it achieves 20% lower fuel-burn with half of the noise of previous generation aircraft using Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1500G turbofan engine. The A220 shares 99% of line-replaceable units and the same family of engines, a major incentive for operators. Pilots transition seamlessly between the A220-300 and A220-100, reducing training costs and easing the curve. Of course, one challenge for Airbus is that the type rating is transferrable to other airliners in their portfolio.
About the proposed business jet
Kestrel Aviation selected this airframe for an emerging market share: next gen airliner capability for the corporate traveler. Their concept seats 10-32 passengers in complete luxury, with a mission profile serving transatlantic, middle eastern and Asian destinations. Their prototype offers a 7-zone cabin, with 3 fixed stations (galley/entry, main lavatory, and a master suite featuring a full bathroom) and 4 customizable area configurations. Bannering industry-first super-size bandwidth communications, passengers can relax in a next-gen media lounge with a 75” television.
Designed in collaboration with Camber Aviation Management and Pierrejean Aviation, their proprietary expertise achieves these milestones and simultaneously reduces both design and certification costs. While currently just a prototype, the cool-factor is certainly jawdropping. It will be interesting to see if further developed.
