Dubai: Airbus, the world's largest commercial plane manufacturer, on Sunday launched redesigned wingtips for its single-aisle A320 family that can improve fuel efficiency and add up to $220,000 (Dh808,295) in fuel savings per year on each plane for airline companies.

Chief operating officer John Leahy of Airbus said at the Dubai Airshow that the new A320s will be operational by the end of 2012.

He added that airlines that have already placed A320 orders will be able to add the option for an additional cost of $900,000 on the deliveries scheduled for 2012, 2013 and 2014.

The investment can be made good in three years' time as a result of reduced fuel cost, and also increased revenue, he said.

Emissions cut

Named the ‘Sharklet' for its wingtip shape and performance, the new plane will boast a payload improvement of 20 extra passengers.

The enhanced feature will also reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 730 tonnes a year and improve fuel efficiency by 3.5 per cent.

"There's no reason why they couldn't be sharklet-equipped. It's up to them to decide… it's like an option of car or airplane," Leahy said.

"The A320 is already the most efficient aircraft. What this [new wingtip] will do is take us one step ahead of competition, so we expect quite a few orders," Kiran Rao, executive vice-president of sales and marketing for Airbus, said.

Air New Zealand is the first customer of the Sharklet and has placed an order of 12 aircraft and will press them into service by the end of 2012.

After the test flights in 2013 of the first models, the rest of 320 family — the A320-18, 19, 20 and 21 will all be incorporated with the new winglet.

Ethiopian orders

On the first day of the Dubai Airshow, Ethiopian Airlines ordered 12 Airbus A350 XWB aircraft, bringing total orders for the A350 XWB family to 505.

The airline will operate the the A350-900 from its hub in Addis Ababa on routes to Europe, the US and Asia, Ethiopian Airlines.

"We are committed to investing in industry leading technology to maintain our unrivalled reputation in Africa whilst continuing to grow," said Girma Wake, chief executive of Ethiopian Airlines.

"The A350-900 uses new technology to bring superior passenger comfort and a step change in fuel efficiency to our rapidly expanding operations."

Firm orders for the A350 XWB currently stands at 32 customers worldwide, while total Airbus clients exceed 300.

Demand is satisfying

Airbus is facing several delays in A380 deliveries but is content with the rate.

"The airplane is in demand around the world and we're happy with the rate that we are delivering them.

Everybody is talking about new orders, nobody is talking about delays and cancellations," Leahy told reporters.

He said that 2009 will the same numbers of aircraft deliveries as last year's 483, but will not speed up anything despite urgent demand.