The first Airbus ACJ equipped with winglets (which Airbus calls Sharklets) is nearing.
The aircraft maker has now sold the first aircraft, an ACJ318, with the structural modification in the wing and wingbox to accomodate the forward fit of the device. The option to install the winglet has not been taken, yet.
For ACJ customers, less worried than airlines about the cost of fuel, the attraction of winglets is more one of range and optics than fuel burn.
Next on the Airbus single-aisle product development list is, of course, the NEO reengining option. It will be a key element eventually also for the ACJ product range, but, for now, the aircraft maker is still focused on selling classic A320 family aircraft as business jets; high-wealth customers are not thinking about aircraft not available until 2015 or later. Production slots for regular narrowbody ACJs are available in 2013.
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