British Airways announced on February 21 that it has placed a firm order for four more Airbus A320 aircraft. The new order brings the total number of Airbus aircraft in operation in the British Airways fleet to 66, with 14 on firm order. This latest order reaffirms the commitment to the A320 Family from one of its first operators.

The aircraft will have 156 seats in a two-class configuration and will be powered by International Aero Engines V2527-A5.

"Our Airbus A320 fleet serves us well on our shorthaul network from Heathrow so we are pleased to replace aircraft leaving our fleet with new A320s", said Robert Boyle, British Airways Commercial Director.

"Our A320 Family aircraft goes from strength to strength and is the leading aircraft in the 100 to 220 seat category. Over 5,000 aircraft have been sold, more than 3,000 delivered and we have over 2,000 in our backlog. Repeat orders from an airline like British Airways really endorses the superiority of our product", said John Leahy, Airbus COO customers.

British Airways became an Airbus operator in 1988, when it began flying A320s, and added A319s to its fleet in 1999 and A321s in 2004.

The A320 Family's unique operational commonality allows pilots and maintenance crews to work across the Family range and delivers valuable savings in training and operational efficiency. Designed to optimise revenue through cabin adaptability and passenger comfort, the A320 Family feature the most modern and complete fly-by-wire technology available on any single-aisle aircraft in its category.

Firm orders for Airbus single-aisle aircraft now stand at over 5,000 aircraft - more than for any other single generation of jet airliner. With around 1600 sales in the last two years alone, the A320 Family is also the fastest-selling jet airliner of all time. The Airbus A320 Family has been ordered by, or is in service with, more than 200 customers and operators worldwide and has completed 30 million flight cycles and 50 million flight hours.