Airbus has marked an important milestone for its ACJneo with the award of a Validated Type Certificate (VTC) by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), enabling its widespread operation in the Chinese mainland market. The approval affirms the aircraft’s compliance with Chinese civil aviation regulations and recognises the original Type Certificate issued by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

“This VTC award brings a major market differentiator for the ACJneo, as it is now one of the very few large business jets available that operators can locally register in mainland China, bringing them significant operational autonomy and lower costs,” says Chadi Saade, president of Airbus Corporate Jets. “We are very confident that this aircraft will prove to be a most valuable productivity tool for corporations, organisations and VIPs across mainland China.”

By enabling a local Chinese registration, the VTC frees operators from the constraints associated with foreign aircraft registration. For the ACJneo’s Chinese operators in particular, this will bring extra productivity by opening up autonomous access to many airports across the country, alongside the ability to take into account their aircraft’s operational costs, including the fuel purchased, in their company’s tax obligations.

The award is the culmination of the ACJneo’s VTC project dossier, which was submitted to CAAC for final signature. Contributions from Airbus HQ, Airbus China's airworthiness and engineering teams, and EASA and CAAC officers contributed to the achievement.

Based on the widespread A320neo family aircraft, the ACJneo benefits from its commonality with the passenger variant while incorporating features tailored to its corporate jet role. These features include additional auxiliary centre tanks (ACTs) for greater intercontinental range, an extended flight envelope up to 41,000 ft for avoidance of normal airline traffic, retractable stairs at forward passenger door for independent boarding and deboarding, and lower cabin altitude activation for enhanced comfort on long-range missions.

The ACJneo Family, which supersedes the original A320ceo-based ACJ, includes the ACJ319neo and ACJ320neo variants. The aircraft features next-gen engines, with CFMI LEAP and P&W GTF options, enabling flights of more than 13 hours and 15 hours in the ACJ320neo and ACJ319neo respectively. The cabin is the widest and tallest in its class, offering three times more space than traditional large business jets. Around 160 A320 family ACJs are currently in service worldwide.