The ACJ TwoTwenty is Airbus' newest corporate jet offering, having only been launched less than a year ago, in October 2020. Upon its initial launch, Airbus' cabin-outfitting partner on the jet, Comlux, announced that it was ordering two. But how many of these jets have sold since the program's launch? Let's take a look.
Starting with high hopes
Introduced in early October, Airbus proudly announced that two ACJ TwoTwentys had been sold upon the program's launch. These aircraft would go to Comlux, a Switzerland-based company and Airbus’s cabin-outfitting partner for the jet. Comlux has its own fleet of jets available for VIP charter, ranging from the small Bombardier Challenger up to the Boeing 777-200LR. The company recently operated an impressive 20-hour journey with a Boeing 787 at the end of March 2021.
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While these first two orders are completely valid, the fact that Comlux is partnering with Airbus to install the TwoTwenty's cabins makes the deal a little less of a win, as opposed to a fully impartial and external customer. The company has been selected as the exclusive supplier of interiors for the first 15 cabins of the ACJ TwoTwenty. It's a no-brainer that Comlux's VIP Charter division would want to operate aircraft that showcase its own product.
Less than a day had passed when Airbus announced four additional orders for the TwoTwenty, in what looked to be a very, very promising start. These four orders went to undisclosed customers.
The additional four orders brought the TwoTwenty tally up to six. Airbus noted that these first six jets ordered would enter service in 2023.
An extended lull
Unfortunately, since that first week of October, we have not heard any additional news of TwoTwenty orders.
However, AINonline notes that ACJ president Benoit Defforge says market reaction to the jet has been "very positive," but says “taking a bit longer than we expected.”
Alluding to ongoing travel restrictions and subsequent waves of COVID-19-related lockdowns, Defforge tells AINonline,
“Our customers have made a lot of money these last months, but the situation is so unstable.”
Simple Flying looked at Airbus' latest order figures in the form of its April 2021 Orders & Deliveries spreadsheet. Updated and published at the end of each month, the planemaker doesn't distinguish clearly between Airbus and ACJ orders. However, we can see that under the "Governments, Executive and Private Jets" section, six A220-100s have been ordered but undelivered. Interestingly, within this category are also two A220-300s ordered but not delivered.
Despite this lull, executives at both Airbus and ACJ are optimistic that sales will pick up as the global situation improves. Indeed, the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines offer hope that travel can begin to return to normal levels in the near future.
Do you think ACJ TwoTwenty sales will pick up? Or do you think a private jet like this will remain a low-seller? Offer your opinions by leaving a comment.