Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

“This is an important market for us,” said Chadi Saade, Airbus Corporate Jets v-p of commercial, referring to the ultra-long-range and VIP business jets with which ACJs&nbsp;compete.&nbsp;The company’s newest offering for this market is its ACJ Two Twenty, the corporate version of the airline A220 (former C Series) that Airbus acquired from Bombardier.

 


With an airliner heritage, the ACJ TwoTwenty has some distinct advantages over its conventional business jet brethren, according to Saade. Its six-zone cabin, he said, “is two to three times the size of other ultra-long-range aircraft for the same acquisition price. The kind of customers who had a [traditional ultra-long-range jet] said, ‘If I can have the same thing for the same price at twice to three times the cabin size, with a proper bedroom and dining table, it’s a no brainer.’ The experience you can have onboard is unique, space is unique.”

 


Compared to large business jets, the ground footprint of the ACJ TwoTwenty is only slightly larger. This is despite the ACJ TwoTwenty’s cabin measuring about 10 feet longer than its competitors, because its engines are mounted on the wing and don’t take up any space on the aft fuselage, unlike traditional business jets.

 


While the ACJ TwoTwenty burns more fuel, “it is cheaper to operate,” he said, because its maintenance costs are lower. There are so many A220s in airline operation that parts cost less and maintenance and training are widely available anywhere in the world at reasonable prices.

 


The ACJ TwoTwenty’s Pratt &amp; Whitney PW1500G engines are designed to rarely if ever be removed for maintenance. “[Operators] will probably never have to remove an engine,” he said, given the fewer number of flight hours that business aircraft typically fly. Also contributing to the lower operating costs is the ACJ TwoTwenty’s low-use maintenance program.

 


Airbus has already see commitments for five&nbsp;ACJ TwoTwentys this year, with total orders reaching 10 since it was launched. “We didn’t see a slowdown [during the pandemic],” Saade said.

 


The ACJ TwoTwenty cabin offers 786 sq ft (73 sq m) of floor space and 5,210 cu ft volume, and it is taller and wider than the Falcon 10X and Gulfstream G700. It can fly 5,650 nm or 12 hours carrying eight passengers and has a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet. Typical cruise speed is Mach 0.78.

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