Chile's ultra-low-cost carrier, JetSMART, recently took delivery of its first Airbus A320neo aircraft, bringing the total size of its fleet to 12. The latest addition to the airline was presented for the first time on October 9, with a ceremony taking place in Santiago, during which its inaugural flight took place. Simple Flying takes a look JetSMART's newest aircraft, and what the A320-271N will mean for the airline.

Presenting CC-AWJ

JetSMART initially took delivery of the A320neo aircraft at the Toulouse airport, with the aircraft ferried to Chile prior to the presentation.

The presentation ceremony took place at Santiago de Chile’s Arturo Merino Benítez Airport (SCL) in the presence of media, on the 9th of October. The aircraft performed its inaugural flight during the event, flying over the regional coastal zone. The aircraft has been presented with the registration CC-AWJ and has been dubbed the "Colibri de Arica", in reference to the Chilean hummingbird. It has been earmarked to service routes to Argentina, Peru, and Brazil.

Presentation of JetSMART A320neo
The presentation was attended by media and guests. Photo: JetSMART/Twitter

The ceremony's publicity was further enhanced by using the aircraft as the location of a fashion show.

A320neo

The Airbus A320neo is a narrow-body twin-engined jet airliner operating with either Pratt & Whitney PW1000, or CFM International LEAP-1A engines. The PW1000-powered aircraft are designated A320-271N, the same aircraft presented by JetSMART recently.

After its first flight in 2014, there have been more than 6500 orders placed for the aircraft, with Airbus delivering its 1000th in October 2019. It has a single-class capacity of 190, allowing low-cost airlines to maximize passenger load and to offer affordable budget travel. With a range of 6500km, the A320neo offers JetSMART the opportunity to reach more destinations across South America, and its acquisition is an important step in the airline carrier's expansion.

You can see Airbus putting the first A320neo together for JetSMART in the clip below:

JetSMART fleet

JetSMART was founded in 2017, commencing its operations in July of that year. Operating regionally, the airline services routes between Peru, Chile, Brazil and Argentina. Before the addition of CC-AWJ, the carrier took delivery of 11 Airbus A320-232 aircraft. In April of 2019 one of the A320-232s was transferred to JetSMART's Argentinean subsidiary. Currently, JetSMART Argentina operates three of the 232s, with the eight craft in operation for the Chilean fleet.

The airline ordered 56 A320neos to bolster its operations in the region, with plans to bring in an additional five aircraft in early 2020. Including its latest delivery, it will bring the total size of its fleet to 17 aircraft. The airline has an additional 55 on order. JetSMART also has 14 Airbus A321-200neo aircraft on firm order, as it eyes further expansion regionally and abroad.

Operating its aircraft with the barest of amenities, JetSMART is entirely focused on bringing down the cost of travel for its passengers, with a model based on a pay-per-use system.