LATAM Brasil has scheduled for this Friday (03/05) an unprecedented flight with the Airbus A320ceo between São Paulo (Guarulhos) and Santos Dumont Airport, located in Rio de Janeiro.
Soon after, the aircraft will fly to Confins Airport, in the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte, and will return to Santos Dumont Airport (RJ), ending the day with a classic airlift (SDU-CGH).
The aircraft responsible for this route will be the PT-MZW, an A320ceo (old generation) that has operated since 2001 in LATAM (formerly TAM Linhas Aéreas).
The first flight to Santos Dumont (LA3632) should take off shortly, at 12:25 pm, departing from Guarulhos Airport, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo.
Airbus A320neo certification in 2017
In 2017 ANAC (National Civil Aviation Agency) certified the A320neo (new generation) to operate on short runways, the aircraft should be equipped with an upgrade package called SHARP, so that it would be able to operate with low restriction, on short tracks.
The SHARP package offers modifications to the flight software control, which has been changed to understand the physical updates, which cover the brakes and moving aerodynamic surfaces.
Airbus also modified a wing root made of composite material with Kevlar, to one of fairing fillet fairing, resulting in lower drag and better landing performance.
To increase performance during takeoff, Airbus installed vortex generators in the tail of the aircraft, which energize the boundary layer and reduce air turbulence, which results in drag.
The Airbus A320neo with the SHARP package (which is analogous to the SFP 2.0 of the 737 NG), can operate with low restriction on the airlift, taking off from Santos Dumont with 174 engers, in the case of Azul, and 165, in the case of Avianca.
Until 2018, only Avianca and Azul showed interest in operating with the SHARP package, both companies use the CFM Leap-1A engine.
It is worth mentioning that the main runway (02R/20L) at Santos Dumont Airport is only 1320 meters long, it is the smallest in Brazil in its category.
A320ceo certification
ANAC has not officially released an official note on the operation of the Airbus A320ceo at Santos Dumont Airport, mainly on the air shuttle between SDU and Congonhas.
Previously, the company used the Airbus A319 to carry out its flights in Santos Dumont, as it did not have such a severe performance limitation. It continues to use this aircraft, according to the flight schedule for this Friday and Saturday.
The A320ceo does not have the SHARP package, exclusive to the A320neo, as an option, but it has the LIP package as an option, similar to the SHARP and SFP package of the 737NG.
In a note to Portal Aeroflap, LATAM Brasil said:
LATAM Airlines Brasil informs that it was authorized by ANAC (National Civil Aviation Agency) to operate today (May 3), at Rio de Janeiro/Santos Dumont airport, its first “concept flights” with Airbus A320 aircraft (PT prefix). -MZW) equipped with the LIP package (Lift Improvement Package). The LIP package is an aerodynamic adaptation that allows this aircraft model to operate landings and takeoffs on short runways.
The full itinerary for the Airbus A320 (PT-MZW prefix) for May 3 includes flights LA4777 (Guarulhos-Curitiba), LA3515 (Curitiba-Guarulhos), LA3632 (Guarulhos-Santos Dumont), LA3754 (Santos Dumont-Confins), LA3759 (Confins-Santos Dumont) and LA3193 (Santos Dumont-Congonhas).
LATAM will communicate in due course any future confirmation of regular commercial operation with Airbus A320 aircraft at Rio de Janeiro/Santos Dumont airport.
