neo or ceo? How to identify an A320 family jet
Judge the length, read the exits and wingtips, check the engines, then the type code. Our own drawings, no airline colours.
Airlines fit different cabins and paint their aircraft very differently, so ignore the colours and look at the shape. These are general pointers, not an official identification method.
1. Judge the length
The A320neo is 37.57 m (123 ft 3 in) long. Airbus: A320neo (product page and key figures) · checked 29 Oct 2026 The A319neo is 33.84 m (111 ft 0 in) long. Airbus: A319neo (product page and key figures) · checked 29 Oct 2026
The A321neo is 44.51 m long, the longest fuselage in the A320 family. Airbus: A321neo (product page and key figures) · checked 29 Oct 2026 EASA gives the little A318 as 31.45 m long and 12.79 m tall; the A319 is 33.84 m long and 11.76 m tall. EASA: Type-Certificate Data Sheet EASA.A.064, Airbus A318, A319, A320, A321, Issue 62, 26 June 2026 (PDF)
Airbus’s A319neo table: fuselage 3.95 m wide, span 35.80 m, height 11.76 m, track 7.59 m. Airbus: A319neo (product page and key figures) · checked 29 Oct 2026 Airbus’s A321neo table: fuselage 3.95 m wide, span 35.80 m, height 11.76 m, track 7.59 m. Airbus: A321neo (product page and key figures) · checked 29 Oct 2026 A320neo dimensions: length 37.57 m, span 35.80 m, height 11.76 m, cabin length 27.51 m, maximum cabin width 3.70 m. Airbus: A320neo (product page and key figures) · checked 29 Oct 2026 The span, height and fuselage width match across the three, so from the side, length is the biggest clue.
The A319neo’s wheelbase is 11.04 m (36 ft 3 in). Airbus: A319neo (product page and key figures) · checked 29 Oct 2026 The A320neo’s wheelbase is 12.64 m (41 ft 5 in). Airbus: A320neo (product page and key figures) · checked 29 Oct 2026
Airbus gives the A321neo’s wheelbase as 16.90 m. Airbus: A321neo (product page and key figures) · checked 29 Oct 2026
2. Read the exits
EASA lists the A320’s 180-seat exit arrangement as C-III-III-C: Type C exits with two Type III exits between them. The 195-seat version is C*-III-III-C*, where C* is an ‘over-performing’ exit. EASA: Type-Certificate Data Sheet EASA.A.064, Airbus A318, A319, A320, A321, Issue 62, 26 June 2026 (PDF) Airbus’s airport manual shows the A320’s two Type III exit slides over the wings, in the wing-to-fuselage fairings. Airbus: A320 Aircraft Characteristics, Airport and Maintenance Planning (Rev. 46, 1 Jul 2026, PDF)
The A321’s 220-seat arrangement is C-C-C-C: Type C exits only, no Type III. Some A321neo models (EASA’s -NX models, modification 160766) use C*-(III-III)+-C-C* for up to 244. EASA: Type-Certificate Data Sheet EASA.A.064, Airbus A318, A319, A320, A321, Issue 62, 26 June 2026 (PDF)
The A319 uses C-III-III-C or C*-III-C* for up to 160 seats; the A318 uses C-III-C for 136. EASA: Type-Certificate Data Sheet EASA.A.064, Airbus A318, A319, A320, A321, Issue 62, 26 June 2026 (PDF)
3. Look at the wingtips
Sharklets are 2.4-metre-tall wingtip devices. They are standard on the neo, available on new-production ceo aircraft, and offered as a retrofit for earlier ones. Airbus newsroom: Winglets, a tip-top solution for more efficient aircraft (Feb 2017) Before Sharklets, the A320 Family had wingtip fences: small arrow-shaped plates extending above and below the wingtip. Airbus newsroom: Winglets, a tip-top solution for more efficient aircraft (Feb 2017)
Wingtip devices reduce the spiral-shaped vortices that form at the ends of wings in flight, which create drag. Airbus newsroom: Winglets, a tip-top solution for more efficient aircraft (Feb 2017) EASA’s data sheet gives an A320’s span as 34.10 m, or 35.80 m with Sharklets fitted (modifications 160500 or 160080). EASA: Type-Certificate Data Sheet EASA.A.064, Airbus A318, A319, A320, A321, Issue 62, 26 June 2026 (PDF)
Our own head-on sketches, not to scale.
4. neo or ceo?
Airbus has offered Sharklets on new-build A320 Family aircraft since December 2012, and all neo family members have them as standard. Airbus press release: Airbus launches Sharklet retrofit for in-service A320 Family aircraft (Oct 2013) Sharklets are also available on new-production ceo aircraft and as a retrofit, so a Sharklet alone doesn’t prove you’re looking at a neo. Airbus newsroom: Winglets, a tip-top solution for more efficient aircraft (Feb 2017)
Every neo comes with a choice of two engines: the CFM International LEAP-1A or the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM geared turbofan (GTF). Airbus press release: A320neo with CFM LEAP-1A engines receives joint EASA and FAA Type Certification (May 2016) CFM says its CFM56-5B powers nearly 60% of all A320ceo family aircraft ordered, and is the only engine that powers all four ceo models. CFM International: CFM56-5B & CFM56-7B · checked 29 Oct 2026
EASA’s data sheet shows the ceo A320s with CFM56-5A, CFM56-5B or IAE V2500 engines. EASA: Type-Certificate Data Sheet EASA.A.064, Airbus A318, A319, A320, A321, Issue 62, 26 June 2026 (PDF)
The two neo fans, drawn to the same scale as each other CFM International: LEAP engine family · checked 29 Oct 2026 Pratt & Whitney: GTF engine fast facts (1Q 2023, PDF). The fan sits inside the nacelle, so from the ground this is hard to judge. We haven’t found an official source describing nacelle shapes, so we don’t give a visual rule for them.
5. Check the type code and model number
On flight trackers and flight plans the neo models have their own designators: A19N (A319neo), A20N (A320neo) and A21N (A321neo). FAA Order JO 7360.1K, Aircraft Type Designators (effective 12 Jun 2025, PDF) · checked 29 Oct 2026 The earlier models are simply A318, A319, A320 and A321, so ‘A20N’ rather than ‘A320’ on a tracker means a neo. FAA Order JO 7360.1K, Aircraft Type Designators (effective 12 Jun 2025, PDF) · checked 29 Oct 2026
EASA model numbers tell you the engine: A320-251N, -252N and -253N have CFM LEAP-1A engines; A320-271N, -272N and -273N have Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM-series engines. EASA: Type-Certificate Data Sheet EASA.A.064, Airbus A318, A319, A320, A321, Issue 62, 26 June 2026 (PDF) In EASA’s data sheet, ‘A320 NEO’ and ‘A320 CEO’ are marked as commercial designations only; the certified names are model numbers such as A320-271N. EASA: Type-Certificate Data Sheet EASA.A.064, Airbus A318, A319, A320, A321, Issue 62, 26 June 2026 (PDF)
Test yourself
Three of our drawings. Have a guess, then open the answer.
Which model is it?
Short, with Type III exits between the doors: an A319 (A319neo or ceo). Check the engines or the A19N code.
Which model is it?
Long, with four door positions and no small exits drawn: an A321. Check the A21N code for a neo.
Which model is it?
Middle length, two Type III exits between the doors: an A320. A20N on a tracker means a neo.
Next: specs and engines →