Airbus launched a new engine option yesterday for A320-series airliners, and an Airbus Corporate Jetliner spokesman confirmed to AIN that the option (costing $6 million when specified for the airliner variant) will also be available for all A320-based ACJs except the A318 Elite. Dubbed A320neo, the project offers two new engine choices–the CFM Leap-X or Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1100G. The new engine option also includes wingtip devices called sharklets. Airbus expects to deliver the first A320neo airliner in the spring of 2016, with “ACJneo” versions to follow later. The company claims that, compared with the current offering, the A320neo will burn 15 percent less fuel and have a “double digit” reduction in NOx emissions, less engine noise, lower operating costs and either a 500-nm range improvement or a 4,400-pound payload increase. Assuming those numbers are achieved, an “ACJneo” would have a max payload of 8,200 pounds (more than double the base ACJ’s 3,800 pounds), or an NBAA IFR range of at least 6,500 nm with eight passengers. The sharklet wingtips, which account for about 3.5 percent of the fuel-burn savings, will also be available as a standalone option for the ACJ sometime after late 2012.