Safran Nacelles has marked the delivery of its 1,000th nacelle system to equip the Airbus A320neo jetliner family, with Middle River Aerostructure Systems (MRAS) recognized for its important supplier role in this program.
The 1,000th A320neo nacelle delivery was marked by an event at the Paris Air Show, which included the participation of Frank Dougherty, MRAS General Manager and Senior Vice President (at right). Photo: Cyril Abad / CAPA Pictures / Safran
The delivery occurred last week in Toulouse, France, with the milestone nacelle installed on an A320neo for TAP Air Portugal.
This was followed by a celebration today at the Paris Air Show in the presence of Safran Nacelles CEO Cédric Goubet; Erik Buschmann, Airbus Senior Vice President – Propulsion System Procurement; Mário Lobato de Faria, Chief Technical Officer of TAP Air Portugal; Gaël Méheust, President and CEO of CFM International; and Frank Dougherty, General Manager and Senior Vice President of Middle River Aerostructure Systems.
The milestone delivery underscored MRAS’ contribution to the fastest production ramp-up ever for a civil aircraft.
Safran Nacelles has complete responsibility for the design and integration of nacelles on A320neo jetliners powered by CFM International LEAP-1A engines. MRAS provides the LEAP-1A nacelle’s thrust reverser transcowl and its actuation system, along with engine build-up (EBU) hardware.
The nacelles feature the latest-generation composite materials and acoustic treatment – which are included in the thrust reverser transcowl produced by MRAS.
Safran Nacelles delivered the initial A320neo nacelle to Airbus in April 2016. Its output reached 440 units in 2018 on the way to 700 plus annually by 2020. The integrated A320neo nacelles are delivered to Airbus A320 final assembly lines from Safran Nacelles’ facilities in Toulouse, France; Hamburg, Germany; and Mobile, Alabama in the U.S.
