easyJet puts newly delivered A321neo into service within hours
easyJet flew a brand-new Airbus A321neo on its first passenger service roughly 12 hours after it arrived at London Gatwick from the Airbus factory in Hamburg, according to flight tracking data.
A new easyJet Airbus A321neo went straight into commercial service after arriving at its UK base. The aircraft flew its first passenger sector about 12 hours after touchdown.
The jet, an A321-251NX registered G-ZXIJ, left Airbus's facility at Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport on September 22 at 14:00 UTC, according to tracking by aviation data outlet AeroSignals. It crossed the North Sea at 38,000 feet and landed at London Gatwick at 15:30 UTC, a flight of about 90 minutes.
After an overnight turnaround at Gatwick, it pushed back for its maiden revenue service to Marseille Provence Airport at 03:30 UTC on September 23. The airline schedule listed the Gatwick-to-Marseille flight as U28439. The tracking post gave the first commercial flight the callsign EZY53JV.
By departure, 12 hours had passed since the aircraft arrived from the factory, and about 13.5 hours since it left the Airbus assembly line in Germany. New aircraft are often kept on the ground for days for final cabin checks, equipment installation or crew positioning.
The A321neo has 235 seats. The source did not give further details about its configuration or subsequent operations.
London → Marseille
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Sources
- airlive.netBrand-new easyJet aircraft already in the air for commercial flight just hours after delivery