MEA Takes Delivery of Third Airbus A321neo

Middle East Airlines (MEA) has taken delivery of its third Airbus A321neo.

The aircraft is particularly special as not only does it expand MEA's fleet size to 18, but it is also MSN10,000 (manufacturer serial number).

MEA received its first A321neo aircraft earlier in 2020 and will be taking another six A321neos over the coming months.

“We are honoured to receive the state of the art A321neo with its distinctive serial number 10,000 coinciding with the 75th anniversary of Middle East Airlines and specially after receiving MSN5,000 back in 2012. Since we first acquired an A320 Family aircraft in 2003, we have not only benefited from the outstanding operational efficiency of the aircraft but were also the first airline to introduce the wide-body cabin product on a single-aisle aircraft which has become a trend in the airline industry afterwards,” said MEA Chairman and Director General, Mohamad El Hout. “Unfortunately, due to the current situation in Lebanon, this time we will not be able to celebrate the delivery of the MSN10,000 in Beirut, as we did with the MSN5,000, but I am sure that in these challenging circumstances, it is a ray of light, hope and motivation to surpass our nation’s difficulties.”

MEA took on MSN5,000 in 2012, after 23 years of Airbus A320 Family production. The next 5,000 took just another eight years to mark this significant MSN10,000 milestone - again with MEA.

The airline’s A321neo is powered by Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1100G-JM geared turbofan engines and is configured in a two-class layout with 28 seats in Business and 132 seats in Economy Class. It is also equipped with the latest generation in-flight entertainment system and high-speed connectivity.

“Airbus is proud to continue building its long-standing partnership with Middle East Airlines which already operates one of the most modern Airbus fleets in the world. As an all Airbus operator, MEA benefits from the Airbus’ unique fleet commonality between aircraft families and is now adding the third highly fuel-efficient A321neo to step up the game. I admire the agility and the resilience of this company in this complex environment,” said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer. “Delivering MSN10,000 is a milestone that demonstrates the success of the A320 Family and we thank our customers globally for their confidence in our products.”

From its home base in Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Middle East Airlines – Air Liban (MEA) operates flights to 32 international destinations in Europe, Middle East and West Africa. MEA is a member of SkyTeam world alliance which includes a network of airlines that cover 1150 destinations in 177 countries. The airline was established in 1945.

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