Airbus 320 designations
 

I noticed that on some of my upcoming flights in Dec/Jan that the Airbus flts out of BDL have been listed as 32R. What are the different designations of the 320 and how do they differ? Have the ones that were flown in Asia been fitted back to 4 rows in 1st or do they still have 3 rows of "Business" thanks for the info.

All a320's are configured the same. There are several types.
32V, used to have the video equipment. but no longer do, but they are wired for it.

Then there are over water equipped a320's

Then there are the new A320's that have neither of the above.

The only way you can tell the differance is by checking if there are life vests, and check out the sink in the lav.

Life vests, I understand, but what is different about the sink? Does it become a personal boat like an ark for really small passengers?
tom

I've been on a couple of the 320's that were NRT based... The F lavs still have the WBC soap and spray holder, but are stocked with the standard soap.

I noticed this once and then noticed that the carpet in F was in much better shape than the carpet in Y, so they must have changed it out when they reconfigured the F cabin back to standard domestic.

I think/hope this is what jjvan meant.

The lav flush and the sink faucets are different.

Quick question on the 320. Do they all have the same type of seat? Does this vary at all with the designation? I was stuck on the 320 MSP-LAX today and it was the worst seat I've ever been on, and on top of that the space between seats was pitiful. I'm normally on 319s and enjoy the seats, where as on the 320 I can barely stand to stay in the seat. I thought remembering the last 320 I was on had the same type of seat, but at least some legroom.

Thanks
flyerCO

The 320's and 319's have the same type of seat, though some are obviously newer than others. The 320 actually has 1" more inch of pitch and some are also .5" wider than on the 319, so there is undoubtedly more room on the 320.

I know the 1st seats are different. 1) The back of the seat doesn't even reach my head on the 320, 2) The tray table are all armrest trays on the 320's I've been on 3) the distance between seats in first is less, and 4) the seat back is not the same (it has some type of pull away middle section on it.) Now I've only flown on two 320s, but I know for the reasons above that it was a different seat.

The seats in row 1 of the A320 have the tray tables in the armrest. However, that's the same on the A319 or any other Northwest plane where the tray tables are normally otherwise in the seatback. Since there is no seat in front of row 1, there is no seatback to have a tray table.

This link will show you that the seats on the A320 have a width of 21" or 21.5" and a pitch of 36":

http://www.nwa.com/travel/trave/seat...00/index.shtml

This link will show you that the seats on the A319 have a width of 21" and a pitch of 35"

http://www.nwa.com/travel/trave/seatm/a319/index.shtml

This means that the seats on the A320 will ALWAYS have 1" more inch of pitch (distance between seats or legroom) than the A319 and sometimes also have an extra .5" of width.

The interiors on the two aircraft are identical for commonality. There may be slight variations due to age but I don't believe that the height of the seat is different universally.

I think that on every 320 that I have been on the first seat backs are shorter than on the 319's. I like the rest of the seat, but feel like I need to slouch to rest my head.

First class cabin seats...
 

I've notice though, some difference in first class seats available on 320's. There are the lower, old "World Business Class" style seating, and the higher, 757 type seating. For me, old type is very comfortable.

Jiburi

The 20 A320 delivered in 1998 and 1999 have the unpopular simline seats, similar to the DC-9's.

How many A320 varations?
 

I was going to post a new thread, but found this one.

Next week I am flying MSP-PDX on a 32R

I don't believe I've ever seen the code 32R used on nwa.com. When I view my reservation:

Aircraft: 32R (no link to aircraft seating)

For my return, I am also on an A320 from PDX-MSP, but when I view my reservation it reads:

Aircraft: Airbus A320 (with link to A320 seating)

What exactly is the difference between the two? Is the R an over the water version or does the R stand for something in particular?

Lately I haven't been on many NW A320 flights, with most of my flying international on DC-10s & A330-300s combined with DC-9's between SDF-DTW.

On a NW A320 flight from MEM-TPA in December I noticed the interior and seats looked different than other A320's I've been on, with life vest signage and shorter seats in F. All tray tables were inside the arm rests for all F rows. I assume this was an ex-Asia A320.

Most of the other A320's I've taken have taller seats. With the taller seats, I seem to recall the tray tables being in the seat in front in FC (?).

My last A320, I was in the back of the bus as a Plat from DCA-DTW; An A320V, but can't comment on up front. I did many A320 flights in 2003 and I seem to recall most of them had the tall seats in F.

Anyways - does anyone know what A320 varations NWA has in the US domestic fleet and what should I expect for the "32R" providing the EUA is kind to me? Being there is no link to view/change seating within the reservation, my only guess is it's an ex-Asia or a different config A320.

Thanks,

SDF_Traveler (NW Plat)

P.S. What is NW doing for breakfast these days on A320 flights in F between MSP-PDX and PDX-MSP. Both are marked as Breakfast flights.

SDF_Traveler-

I was on a 32R flight FLL-MSP on Dec. 26th, and had also been a bit intrigued that the equipment type listing was not hyperlinked on nwa.com. I was in F, so I didn't make a close examination of the back, but it looked pretty much the same as 'regular' 320s. In F, the main differences I noted (related to the posting quoted below) were that all the F seats had in-armrest tray tables, not just row 1, and there were no footrests. I must admit that I did not think to look for life vest signs or unique sinks!