VVIP charter operator Comlux has placed a firm order for two more Airbus A318 Elites, taking its total orders for the type to five and making it - together with an undisclosed client - the joint largest customers.

Comlux is a launch customer for the A318 Elite, and will be the first to take delivery of one. Its first A318 Elite is currently being outfitted by Lufthansa Technik, which is equipping the initial aircraft of the type, and will be delivered this spring.

All of Comlux's A318 Elites are powered by CFM International CFM56-5s.

The A318 Elite is the smallest member of the Airbus corporate jetliner (ACJ) Family, but still offers the widest and most comfortable cabin of any corporate jet - all in an affordable package that is unique in its class.

Worldwide sales of the Airbus ACJ Family now total around 80, with the aircraft having been chosen by customers on every continent. Airbus ACJs have led the large top-of-the-line corporate jet market for the last three years, and won almost two-thirds of sales in 2006.

Airbus' ACJ Family brings a new dimension to business jet travel, giving executives and VIPs a cabin that is twice as wide with three times the volume of older top-of-the-line business jets. It also features the most modern design of any corporate jet, yet remains as affordable as competing aircraft, delivering unmatched quality and value.

Customers have full cabin flexibility with their Airbus ACJ cabin, and can chose anything from a corporate shuttle with seating for almost 50 passengers, through a mixed arrangement with areas for VIP travellers and support staff, up to a full VIP configuration with different zones - including lounges, dining rooms, private offices, bedrooms, bathrooms and showers.

"In the Airbus A318 Elite you get four distinct cabin zones - two in the main cabin, a private office, and an area for entourage - all in an ultra-wide cabin that allows you to move around easily and freely," says Airbus Chief Operating Officer customers John Leahy. "The A318 Elite really is above the clouds compared to traditional large business jets, and very much a new standard in business aviation."

Benefits of the modern Airbus ACJ Family include advanced fuel-saving aerodynamic design with wingtip fences as standard, extensive use of weight-saving carbonfibre structure, and modern systems that encompass a cost-saving common cockpit, fly-by-wire controls and centralised maintenance.

The Airbus ACJ is derived from the Airbus A320 Family, the world's best-selling airliner range, which has more than 5,000 orders and some 240 customers and operators to its credit.