Ten questions about our Airbus A320 aircraft family

Our current fleet includes about 80 aircraft, most of which are Airbuses. We operate many of our short-haul flights with the Airbus A320 series aircraft that we currently have 30 in total. In this article, we’ll learn more about them.

Heikki Ojala, Head of NB (Narrowbody) Fleet Management, has worked in various different positions at Finnair Technical Services during his 17-year-long career. In his current role, Heikki is responsible for the airworthiness, maintenance program, reliability program and aircraft lifecycle management of the Airbus A319/320/321 aircraft, together with his professional team.

1. When did the first A320 aircraft family arrive at Finnair and how many of them do Finnair currently have?

“The A320 series has been the backbone of Finnair’s short and medium-haul European traffic for decades. We received our first Airbus A320 series aircraft in early 1999, which marked the beginning of a new era in our fleet, replacing the McDonnell Douglas MD-80s. Between 1999 and 2004, we received a total of 29 Airbus A320 series aircraft. The oldest of them have already retired from Finnair and are now either living in our memories as recycled aircraft or in the service of other airlines. Moreover, our four oldest A321s have been converted into cargo aircraft.

The next major milestone in Finnair’s history of the A320 family was in 2013–2014, when we expanded our A320 fleet by acquiring five A321ER Sharklets equipped with additional fuel tanks to replace the Boeing 757-200s that were mainly used for leisure traffic. ‘Sharklet’ is the name used by Airbus for the aerodynamic extensions installed on the wingtips, which improve the aircraft’s aerodynamic efficiency and, thus, reduce fuel consumption. The name comes from its shark-fin-like appearance.

Finally, the last major change to our A320 fleet took place in 2017–2018, when our fleet was further renewed by ordering eight A321 Sharklets to follow the A321ERs ordered a few years earlier.

Currently, our A320s fleet consists of 30 aircraft as follows: five A319s, ten A320s and fifteen A321s. The A320s fleet has a wide age range, with the youngest aircraft being less than eight years old and the oldest aircraft being over 25 years old. The aircraft have been maintained by maintenance and modification work, which has kept the fleet in excellent technical condition and comparable to newer generation aircraft.”

2. What are the dimensions of the aircraft? How much do they weigh?

“The smallest aircraft, A319, is 33.8 metres long and has a wingspan of 34.1 metres. Its dry weight is just under 42 tons and its full take-off weight is 68.8–70 tons, depending on the aircraft. The A320 is 37.6 metres long and has a wingspan of 34.1 metres. Its dry weight is a bit more than 43 tons and its full take-off weight is 75.5 tons. The biggest of the series, A321 is 44.5 metres long, has a wingspan of 34.1 or 35.8 metres, has a dry weight of about 50 tons and its full take-off weight is 89–93.5 tons, depending on the aircraft.”

3. What are the seating capacities of the different A320 aircraft family? And how many pilots and cabin crew members work on board?

“According to the current cabin configurations of our A320s aircraft, the number of customer seats per aircraft type is as follows: 144 (Airbus A319), 174 (Airbus A320), and 209 (Airbus A321). Technically, it would be possible to fit there some more seats, but we have wanted our customers’ to travel more comfortably with a little bit more leg space.

We fly each aircraft with two pilots, and there are three cabin crew members working onboard the A319, four onboard the A320, and five onboard the A321.”

4. What kind of destinations does Finnair fly to with the Airbus A320s aircraft? What are the shortest and longest flights?

“We use the Airbus A320 series mainly on short and medium-haul routes in Europe. The shortest routes are domestic routes as well as the flight to Stockholm Arlanda, and the longest routes are to southern holiday destinations, such as the Canary Islands. The flight to Tenerife is approximately 6 hours 45 minutes, which is the furthest we can fly with them.”

5. How high and how fast can these aircraft fly?

“All A320 series aircraft have the same maximum altitude of 11,900 meters and cruising speed of 840 km/h. The longest range of our A320 series aircraft is the A321ER aircraft equipped with two additional fuel tanks, which allows us to increase the total fuel capacity by about 6,000 litres.”

6. How do the A319, A320 and A321 aircraft differ from each other?

“There are, in fact, many differences within our A320 series aircraft, since the aircraft have a long history at Finnair. The biggest difference is the visually noticeable size difference between the different aircraft types. Other external differences include the number and placement of emergency exit doors, two different engine types, and the shark fin-like ‘sharkles’ on the wing tips of the latest A321 aircraft. In addition, the A321 aircraft differ structurally from the smaller A319 and A320 aircraft, in terms of the wing and landing gear that are reinforced to carry a higher take-off weight.”

7. What kind of unique or special features do the Airbus A320 series aircraft have?

“Compared to the other, bigger Airbus aircraft operated by Finnair, the A320s fleet does not have any special features to mention. However, there are unique differences compared to other narrow-body aircraft of the same size. One special feature is the A320 series control system: the control of the Airbus A320 series aircraft is based on a ‘fly-by-wire system’, where control inputs from the pilot are transmitted electrically through computers to hydraulic actuators. Instead of a traditional ‘control yoke’, where the control is done mechanically via a ‘steering wheel’ with the assistance of hydraulic actuators. Finnair’s aircraft are also equipped with a comprehensive ‘winter package’, which enables us to operate in challenging and cold winter conditions.”

8. What kind of engines do these aircraft have?

“Our A320 series aircraft use engines from two different engine manufacturers. The older aircraft have the CFM56-5B engines, while the newer A321 aircraft use IAE V2500-A5 engines, which consume less fuel.”

9. What do you think our customers do not know about the A320 aircraft family?

“The world’s first passenger aircraft to be equipped with a side stick was the Airbus A320.”

10. Can you share a special memory with the Airbus A320 aircraft family?

“My career at Finnair has been filled with many memorable experiences across various aircraft types. The most notable one with the A320 series took place between 2017 and 2019, when we undertook a major cabin refurbishment across the entire fleet. This included renewing the cabins, lavatories, and galleys, as well as installing a brand-new WiFi system to enhance customers’ travel experience. Managing such an extensive upgrade alongside regular maintenance and repair work was highly challenging, but it provided me with learning opportunities and significant professional growth.”