Airbus began immediate processing of flight-test data from the A320neo’s September 25 first flight, which single-aisle program experimental test pilot Philippe Pellerin described as “a lot of fun” as he emerged from the aircraft at the Toulouse-Blagnac factory in southwest France. The first A320neo, powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM geared turbofan (GTF) engines in the 33,000-pound-thrust class, “really feels like an A320, which is good news,” remarked fellow experimental test pilot Etienne Miche de Malleray, who occupied the right seat.

“We did a good job and opened quite a lot of the flight envelope,” added flight-test engineer Dr Sandra Bour-Schaeffer. “We flew in both ‘normal’ and ‘direct’ [flight control] law and up to 26,000 feet.” Also on board were test-flight engineers Jean-Paul Lambert and Manfred Birnfield.

During the maiden flight, the new aircraft, also available with CFM International Leap-1A engines due to power the A320neo for the first time next year, flew at speeds between minimum final-approach velocity (V_LS) and 280 knots, with leading-edge slats and trailing-edge flaps tested in all configurations up to "clean." The crew tested aircraft systems “as for any normal production-aircraft first flight,” said Airbus.

As the crew emerged after landing, Airbus president and chief executive Fabrice Bregier congratulated the A320neo team for flying the aircraft "on the date set by [program senior vice president] Klause [Roewe]" and Airbus group CEO Tom Enders for his role in the decision to launch. Bregier said that pre-first flight orders covering more than 3,250 aircraft puts the A320neo "at the start of [being] the most successful aircraft for Airbus [going] way beyond 2030, but there is much to do with many versions to certify."

Enders said that Airbus "and the whole industry" had been "quite skeptical" about P&W's GTF powerplant "until we tried it in [2008.]" The watershed for the project came in 2011, when chief operating officer for customers John Leahy and his team won a milestone order from American Airlines. “That really helped the breakthrough of Neo,” he said

Plans call for the A320neo series flight-test campaign to use eight aircraft, including two A319s and two A321s—one of each of the latter pairs dedicated to the PW1000G-JM and the other to the Leap-1A. Airbus and Pratt have already logged some 300 hours of testing on flying and ground testbeds, according to senior vice president flight and integration tests Fernando Alonso, who has overseen five Airbus first flights and expects A320neo testing toward certification of six variants to encompass 3,000 hours.