Airbus Corporate Jets introduced its latest offering, the ACJ TwoTwenty, at this year's NBAA-BACE, marking its debut in North America. This "extra-large" business jet has an intercontinental range of 5,650 nm or more than 12 flight hours.

“The airplane can fly to three continents—Europe, South America, and Africa—from Las Vegas,” Sean McGeough, head of Airbus Corporate Jets North America, told AIN. The airframer found that just 1 percent of ultra-long-range travelers in the U.S. exceed the range of 5,600 nm, and most operate primarily within North America.

The ACJ TwoTwenty's most defining feature is its expansive cabin, according to McGeough. "It's literally three times the real estate of what you'd find in a Gulfstream or Bombardier ultra-long-range airplane," he remarked.

Six distinct zones are included in the cabin, from a gourmet kitchen galley to a private lounge. Two 55-inch 4K TVs, a California king-sized bed option in the bedroom, and a full stand-up rain shower in the bathroom also set this aircraft apart.

Beyond space, Airbus Corporate Jets has focused on enhancing the in-flight experience. While most aircraft tout their cabin altitude—“and we do have a nice cabin altitude,” McGeough noted—the TwoTwenty introduces an air humidification system. Originally designed for up to 160 passengers, this system can boost (or reduce) the humidity by as much as 25 percent for up to 19 passengers, reducing the impacts of jet lag.

The TwoTwenty is competitively priced, according to McGeough, and operational costs are a third less than its ultra-long-range counterparts. This is because of longer maintenance intervals, affordable parts, and the robustness of the Airbus commercial infrastructure, he said. According to McGeough, the aircraft's residual value depreciates at only 2.5 to 3 percent annually, compared with the industry's average of 6 to 7 percent.

The current financial landscape shows a shift toward off-balance-sheet leasing, with banks displaying a preference for financing large cabin airplanes, which typically depreciate slower.

McGeough also shared with AIN that many of the company's customers “and a lot of people in business aviation are focused on philanthropy or how they can use their airplane for good causes.”

Airbus Corporates Jets partner Comlux announced on Monday that it had received two more orders for the ACJ TwoTwenty, which will be completed by Comlux Completion. Comlux is the exclusive outfitter for the first 15 copies of the bizliner.

"The combination of the Airbus airframe, the Pratt & Whitney engines, and the Comlux cabin has really resulted in the creation of a champion of business aviation," said Christophe Pelet, the head of Comlux Transactions.

The first TwoTwenty was delivered to launch customer Five Hotels and Resorts in May. Comlux expects to deliver the second of the outfitted bizliners in February.