European plane maker Airbus has begun sounding out customers about possible plans to upgrade engines on its top-selling A320 jet family but has not made decisions, its leading US customer said on Tuesday.
Derek Kerr, the finance director of US Airways, which has a large fleet of the single-fleet passenger jets, said he would expect Airbus to discuss the matter before making firm decisions on the proposed change.
Airbus and rival Boeing have said they are looking at whether to commission new engines for their narrow-body jets, a move designed to boost fuel efficiency and ease pollution.
"They (Airbus) have presented the direction they want to go in but we haven't had any discussions," Kerr told the Reuters Travel and Leisure Summit in New York.
Asked whether the airline, which last year announced plans to delay aircraft deliveries to save cash, might further delay the arrival of undelivered A320-family jets if a new product line became available, he said: "We might be tempted to talk to them to delay, but that is not an option on the table right now.
"We would hope they would come to us as the largest Airbus customer in the US and say we would like to have a conversation with you."
Airbus has said it hopes to make a decision this year on whether to go ahead with the change, which would be an interim step in cutting emissions and saving fuel ahead of a new generation of single-aisle jets expected next decade.
Both Boeing and Airbus have thousands of the planes in their order books waiting to be produced and must juggle the benefits of any upgrades against the risk of reducing the value of their existing backlogs, according to aviation analysts.
