Brazilian airline TAM takes delivery of its first A321s

Leading Brazilian carrier TAM Linhas Aéreas has taken delivery of its first two A321s.

TAM’s new A321s are powered by International Aero Engines V2500s and seat 220 passengers in a single -class layout.

TAM already operates an Airbus fleet of 86 aircraft comprising 15 A319s, 61 A320s, and 10 A330s and is Airbus’ largest customer in Latin America.

The new A321s will be put into service on TAM’s domestic and regional network.

“With the A321 we will be able to open up new routes and offer new services to our passengers by connecting important cities. Furthermore, the A321 will provide us with the lowest seat-mile costs in this market segment, allowing us to optimize our network in the Southern cone of Latin America, whilst maintaining a high level of passenger comfort.” said Marco Antonio Bologna, President of TAM.

John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer Customers said, “I am pleased to see the arrival of a new Airbus member in TAM’s fleet. The A321 will fit right in thanks to its extremely high level of operational commonality with the other members of the Airbus Family already in service with TAM.”

The largest member of the Airbus A320 Family, the A321, offers the best seat-mile costs of any single-aisle aircraft and has a range of up to 5,600 km/3,000 nm.

With more than 5,300 aircraft sold worldwide and over 3,200 aircraft delivered to more than 190 operators, the A320 Family is the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family. The Family comprises four aircraft (A318, A319, A320 and A321) that share the same cockpit and have the same cabin cross-section and systems.

Designed to optimise revenue through cabin adaptability and passenger comfort and featuring the most modern and complete fly-by-wire technology available on any single-aisle aircraft, the A320 Family ensures savings in every element of direct operating costs and provides operators with the highest degree of operational commonality and economy for aircraft in the 100-220 seat category.

The A320 Family’s optimised cabin cross-section - the widest single-aisle fuselage on the market - sets the standards for passenger cabin adaptability in this segment allowing for top-of-the-range comfort with wider seats and aisles.

In Latin America more than 230 A320 Family aircraft are in operation with ten of the region’s airlines.