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Engines, ceo and neo

Module 3 of 7Airbus A320 family: ceo to neo, and A319 / A320 / A3218 min readUpdated Sep 2026

The engine is the headline change from ceo to neo, and a ceo fleet can itself mix engine types. The EASA type certificate data sheet (TCDS A.064) lists six engine families for the A318, A319, A320 and A321. This module sets out which engine each model carries, what the suffixes on the engine names mean, where the thrust figures are and what the regulators require in training when the engine type changes. The installation of the neo engines (pylons, nacelles, fire zones, cowls) is in module 4, and their flight deck indications, start and limits in module 5.

Side of a white jet engine nacelle under a wing, with the outlines of closed door panels in the rear half of the nacelle.
The closed thrust reverser doors on the CFM56 of an A320, their outlines visible in the rear of the nacelle. The ceo CFM56-5B reverser has four pivoting doors per engine; the neo engines have their own reversers on their own nacelles.Photo: Olivier Cleynen · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
In this module
  1. Six engine families on one certificate
  2. Which engine on which model
  3. Ratings and suffixes
  4. Thrust figures
  5. What the regulators require
  6. The ceo engines compared
  7. Limitations that do not carry across
  8. Key differences

Six engine families on one certificate

Engine family Generation Model digit Fitted to Engine data sheet
CFM56-5A ceo 1 A319-113, -114; A320-211, -212 EASA.E.067
CFM56-5B ceo 1 A318-111, -112; A319-111, -112, -115; A320-214, -215, -216; A321-111, -112, -211, -212, -213 EASA.E.003
IAE V2500 (V2500-A1 and V25xx-A5) ceo 3 A319-131, -132, -133; A320-231, -232, -233; A321-131, -231, -232 EASA.E.069 (FAA E31NE for the V2500-A1)
PW6000 ceo 2 A318-121, -122 only IM.E.020
CFM LEAP-1A neo 5 A319-151N, -153N; A320-251N, -252N, -253N; A321-251N, -252N, -253N and NX; A321-253NY EASA.E.110
Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM neo 7 A319-171N, -173N; A320-271N, -272N, -273N; A321-271N, -272N and NX; A321-271NY EASA.IM.E.093
Close view of a large engine nacelle in bright green livery under an airliner wing, the fan blades visible inside the intake.
A Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM geared turbofan on an A320neo, one of the two neo engine families alongside the CFM LEAP-1A.Photo: SmallSonMarex · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The TCDS files the PW1100G-JM under the IAE heading and calls it a geared turbofan; its annexes name it the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM. The CFM56-5A appears on only four models and the PW6000 only on the A318.

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All modules

  1. The A320 Family and Your Type RatingThe A318, A319, A320 and A321 in their ceo and neo versions, how to read a model number such as A320-214 or A321-251NX, the single type rating, the FAA and EASA differences levels A to E and the levels set between the variants.MODULE 1 · 8 MIN READ
  2. A319, A320 and A321 ComparedThe three main variants side by side from the EASA type certificate data sheet and the FAA and EASA differences tables: dimensions, exits and seating, weights, fuel, flaps, speed limits, altitude and the handling and systems items a pilot must know.MODULE 2 · 8 MIN READ
  3. Engines, ceo and neoThe six engine families on the A320-family type certificate, which engine each model carries, what the engine suffixes and optional ratings mean, what the FAA and EASA require in training when the engine changes, and the engine limitations that do not carry across.MODULE 3 · 8 MIN READ
  4. The neo Airframe and SystemsWhat the type certificate and its annexes record as changed in the neo airframe and systems, chapter by chapter, and what each change means for a ceo pilot.MODULE 4 · 8 MIN READ
  5. Flight Deck and ProceduresWhat a ceo pilot sees and does differently on the neo, from engine indications and start to flap settings, go-around, abnormal procedures and limitations, and which ceo figures not to carry across.MODULE 5 · 6 MIN READ
  6. A321neo ACF and XLRThe A321neo Airbus Cabin Flex with its new exit and tank options, and the A321neo XLR with its rear centre tank, electrical rudder and revised flight control laws, with the FSB training levels.MODULE 6 · 8 MIN READ
  7. Quick ReferenceSide-by-side tables of the A319, A320 and A321 ceo, of ceo against neo and of the A321neo, ACF and XLR, then a revision list of the differences that matter most.MODULE 7 · 6 MIN READ

Sources

  1. FAA Flight Standardization Board Report, Airbus A318, A319, A320, A321, Revision 7 (draft)
  2. EASA Type Certificate Data Sheet EASA.A.064, Airbus A318, A319, A320, A321
  3. EASA TCDS EASA.A.064 Explanatory Note, Annex I (special conditions and equivalent safety findings)
  4. EASA TCDS EASA.A.064 Explanatory Note, Annex II (areas affected by significant changes: neo, Sharklet, ACF, XLR)
  5. EASA, Transition from OEB Reports to OSD: Airbus A320 Family (with the 2003 JAA JOEB report)

Difference Training on v1prep is for study, interview and exam preparation. It does not replace your operator's approved differences training, your AFM, FCOM and QRH, or the regulators' documents, which always govern.