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The A320 Family and Your Type Rating

Module 1 of 7Airbus A320 family: ceo to neo, and A319 / A320 / A3218 min readUpdated Sep 2026

For a pilot, the A318, A319, A320 and A321 are one aircraft type: one EASA type certificate data sheet (TCDS EASA.A.064), one FAA data sheet (A28NM), one flight deck and one type rating. Between models the fuselage length, weights, some system details and, above all, the engines change. This module covers how the family is organised, how to decode a model number and what the FAA and EASA require before you fly a new variant.

An Airbus A320 cockpit seen from behind the seats: six lit screens, the centre pedestal with thrust levers and a sidestick on each side console.
The flight deck of an Air France A320: six display screens, the thrust levers on the pedestal and a sidestick on each side console. The 2003 JAA evaluation found the A318, A319, A320 and A321 highly common in cockpit layout, systems and handling, the basis of their single type rating.Photo: Louis from Paris, France · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
In this module
  1. Four lengths, two engine generations
  2. Reading a model number
  3. One type rating
  4. Differences levels A to E
  5. The levels inside the family
  6. The A321neo ACF and XLR in brief
  7. Key differences

Four lengths, two engine generations

Model Length ceo models (engine family) neo models (engine family)
A318 31.45 m -111, -112 (CFM56-5B); -121, -122 (PW6000) none
A319 33.84 m -111, -112, -115 (CFM56-5B); -113, -114 (CFM56-5A); -131, -132, -133 (V2500) -151N, -153N (LEAP-1A); -171N, -173N (PW1100G-JM)
A320 37.57 m -211, -212 (CFM56-5A); -214, -215, -216 (CFM56-5B); -231, -232, -233 (V2500) -251N, -252N, -253N (LEAP-1A); -271N, -272N, -273N (PW1100G-JM)
A321 44.51 m -111, -112, -211, -212, -213 (CFM56-5B); -131, -231, -232 (V2500) -251N to -253N and -251NX to -253NX (LEAP-1A); -271N, -272N, -271NX, -272NX (PW1100G-JM); XLR: -253NY, -271NY
Short-bodied white twin-engined airliner with a striped tail, seen side-on on the runway in low evening sun.
An Airbus A318, the shortest member of the family and the only one with no neo version, landing at Amsterdam Schiphol.Photo: Alf van Beem · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

"ceo" (current engine option) and "neo" (new engine option) are commercial names only; the TCDS certifies each aircraft by its model number. There is no A318neo. The first neo, the A320-271N, received its EASA type certificate on 24 November 2015 and the A320-251N on 31 May 2016; the A321neo models followed from December 2016, the A321neo NX models in March 2018, the A319neo in December 2018 and the A321XLR in July 2024 (A321-253NY) and February 2025 (A321-271NY).

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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)

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