Spotting & today

Logging an A320neo, and where it stands today

Type codes for your logbook, quick checks at the fence, and Airbus’s latest totals. Things here change, so each one shows the date we checked it.

Codes for your logbook

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)

Quick checks at the fence

• The A320neo is 37.57 m (123 ft 3 in) long. Airbus: A320neo (product page and key figures) · checked 29 Oct 2026
• 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) 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)
• 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)

Where it stands today

Airbus’s order book at the end of September 2026: 20,435 A320 Family orders, 12,900 delivered and 11,374 in the fleet. These are totals for the whole A320 Family, ceo and neo together. Airbus: Orders and deliveries (figures valid at the end of September 2026) · checked 29 Oct 2026 In the first nine months of 2026 Airbus delivered 547 commercial aircraft, 428 of them from the A320 Family. Airbus press release: Airbus reports Nine-Month (9m) 2026 results (28 Oct 2026, PDF) · checked 29 Oct 2026

Airbus’s A320 Family page counts 20,100+ family orders, 12,600+ deliveries, 300+ operators and 380 million+ flight hours. Airbus: A320 Family, the most delivered aircraft ever · checked 29 Oct 2026 Airbus’s A320 Family page says an A320 Family aircraft takes off or lands somewhere in the world every two seconds. Airbus: A320 Family, the most delivered aircraft ever · checked 29 Oct 2026

The same manual says an A320 takes off or lands somewhere every 1.5 seconds, and the family has logged more than 117 million cycles since entry into service. Airbus: A320 Aircraft Characteristics, Airport and Maintenance Planning (Rev. 46, 1 Jul 2026, PDF) · checked 29 Oct 2026

Then and now

In October 2013 Airbus counted over 9,900 A320 Family aircraft ordered and over 5,700 delivered. Airbus press release: Airbus launches Sharklet retrofit for in-service A320 Family aircraft (Oct 2013) In January 2016 Airbus counted almost 4,500 neo orders from nearly 80 customers since the 2010 launch. Airbus press release: First A320neo delivery opens new era in commercial aviation (Jan 2016)

In February 2017, on the 30th anniversary of the first flight, Airbus counted more than 13,000 A320 Family orders and more than 7,400 deliveries, with one coming off a final assembly line every seven hours. Airbus newsroom: 30 years young… and still going strong (22 Feb 2017)

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