Airbus Lists NGSA A320neo Replacement Priorities

As Airbus continues to review airframe and propulsion options for its next-generation single-aisle (NGSA) A320 successor, the manufacturer has spelled out the key priorities driving its technology selection decisions.

Targeted at a 20-30% increase in fuel efficiency compared with the current generation, as well as the capability to fly with up to 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the 200-seat class NGSA is expected to enter service in the second half of the 2030s.

The NGSA is a “core priority” for Airbus, says Laurent Thomasson, the company’s coordinator for the European Clean Aviation research program, under which many of the key technologies for the aircraft are being developed. “We are still in the trade space, but whatever decisions are taken, we have three critical dimensions to be really sustainable,” he adds.

The first is “business sustainability,” says Thomasson, who was speaking at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SciTech Forum in Orlando, Florida. “Here we’re talking about cost efficiency, so that at the end we’ll have something which is affordable for the airlines, the traveling citizens when they buy the tickets, as well as for us and the supply chain.”

The second factor is sustainable performance measured in terms of CO₂ efficiency. “It’s also about having less drag to save fuel burning, and that will have a positive impact on the CO₂ and non-CO₂ efficiency. And that is critical for the climate change aspects,” Thomasson says.

The third target is industrial efficiency, including supply chain readiness and production capacity. Referencing Airbus’ 2025 delivery tally of 793 aircraft, of which 607 were A320neo family units, Thomasson says, “in the future we need to have an industrial setup which is highly efficient, so that at the end, we can target up to 1,000 aircraft per year. So, we have to be sure that our technical choices will be robust from this perspective.”

Aside from the major decision over propulsion, other choices to be finalized include the configuration of the wing, which will be of a higher aspect ratio than the current A320 wing and which is expected to include a foldable tip section for gate compatibility. Next-generation batteries are also under study to enable hybrid power system architectures, along with lightweight materials and integrated systems for a connected aircraft.

“We need to deliver something which is really optimized in terms of operations and maintenance for our customers,” Thomasson says. “Before we go to that, we need to think about the next generation airframe and wing, which will allow us to have something with less drag which will be lighter, bigger, and have a greater span, and at the end avoiding any changes in the airport infrastructure by having folding wingtips.”

“We also have to care about the fuselage and its materials so that we can get better performance from the airframe part of the aircraft,” says Thomasson, adding the target is to have “something which is significantly lighter everywhere.”

But the biggest decision Airbus faces over NGSA is whether to adopt CFM International’s Open Fan engine or alternate high bypass ducted propulsion systems proposed by Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce. The engine choice will drive the airframe design. So far, Airbus has acknowledged it is studying either a T-tail design or a gulled wing for the large fan diameter CFM engine, while the ducted engine powered options shown so far would be mounted on a more conventionally cantilevered high-aspect ratio wing.

“The Open Fan solution gives us a lot of promise, and what we really want to do, and what we’re doing with the support of Clean Aviation, is to push the evaluation of the performance, so ultimately we can address all the aspects of the solution,” Thomasson says.

Flight tests of the Open Fan will take place on an A380 testbed under Clean Aviation’s Take Off (Technology And Knowledge for European Open Fan Flight) program, a Safran-led effort that follows on to the current Ofelia (Open Fan for Environmental Low Impact of Aviation) program. “We will continue to address the other types of propulsion as well, so that at the end, we can really take the best of both and then decide,” he adds.

Ofelia, which is evaluating larger elements of the Open Fan in conjunction with the GE Aerospace-Safran RISE technology program, is due to end later in 2026. The project aims to achieve a technology readiness level (TRL) of 4-5 for the overall concept, with TRL 5 specifically targeted for the engine front module and open fan architecture. Commenting at SciTech, Clean Aviation executive director Axel Krein says the Ofelia program “still has simplification and weight reduction challenges.”

Under the Take Off project, the plan is to conduct an Open Fan flight test readiness review in 2028 with propulsion system flight tests getting underway in 2029 aimed at evaluating propeller efficiency and handling qualities. At this stage, the program envisages conducting tests of the Open Fan at a pre-full-scale development TRL 6 level. Preliminary work to prepare the A380 for its flying testbed role is ongoing under the Companion (Common Platform and Advanced Instrumentation Readiness for Ultra Efficient Propulsion) program, also due for completion in 2026.

Achieving TRL 6 maturity for all elements of the NGSA will be key to giving the green light to the program from both a technology and industrial perspective, Thomasson says. “We’ll need the capacity to really industrialize these technologies, because we cannot have super nice technologies that are super difficult to industrialize.”

To achieve a target production rate of up to 1,000 aircraft per year this “means achieving very efficient, high-quality levels which will be applied to each of the technologies,” he adds.

Thomasson also adds that a key focus is on certification and simplification. “We’ll have to take care that any certification gaps will be filled in due time, so that at the end, when we go to the industrialization of all these aspects, we don’t have any issues.”

—With Graham Warwick in Washington D.C.