After taking delivery of its first example last year, easyJet is consolidating its new A321neo fleet in preparation for the peak 2019 season. In the first of a two-part series, Robin Evans chronicles the new aircraft’s entry into service process.
Visitors to the 2018 Farnborough International Airshow couldn’t fail to have noticed a familiar orange and white tailfin in the static park. But this wasn’t just any easyJet aircraft – it was the public debut of the carrier’s first Airbus A321neo. Flown to the show by a Bristol-based crew, Captain Suki Adams recalls the challenge of operating into an airfield heavily modified for the trade event. “It was my first landing in an A321 in seven years and my first in the neo, using an unconventional 3.5° approach off a visual circuit onto an 1,800m {5,900ft] runway with a 600m (1,970ft) displaced threshold.”
