What are Airbus A320 sharklets, and what do they do?
Airbus A320 sharklets are tall, swept wingtip devices that reduce induced drag by controlling the airflow and vortices at each wingtip. The lower drag cuts fuel burn and emissions, and can improve range, payload capability and climb performance. “Sharklet” is Airbus’s trade name for this type of blended winglet.
In Aviation & Real-World Flying, sharklets are fixed aerodynamic components with no moving parts or cockpit controls. They work whenever the wing produces lift.
How do A320 sharklets reduce drag?
Sharklets improve the wing’s lift distribution and reduce the energy lost through wingtip vortices. Air naturally moves around the wingtip from the high-pressure region beneath the wing towards the lower-pressure region above it, contributing to a rotating wake and induced drag.
The sharklet changes that airflow rather than simply blocking it. This lets the aircraft produce the required lift with less induced drag, particularly during climb and efficient cruise flight.
What benefits do sharklets provide?
On suitably equipped A320-family aircraft, Airbus has cited fuel savings of up to about four per cent on longer sectors. That is an upper-end operational figure, not a fixed reduction that applies to every flight.
- Lower fuel burn: less drag means less thrust is required for a given flight condition.
- Reduced emissions: burning less fuel reduces carbon dioxide emissions for the same mission.
- More range or payload: an operator can trade the efficiency improvement for additional range, payload capability or lower fuel uplift.
- Better climb performance: the improved lift-to-drag ratio can help during climb, although the exact gain depends on weight and conditions.
Short flights normally realise a smaller percentage saving because taxi, take-off and other fixed phases occupy more of the sector. Sharklets also add weight, surface area and structural loads, so their net benefit comes from the complete aerodynamic and structural design rather than their appearance alone.
Are sharklets the same as the older A320 wingtip fences?
Sharklets and wingtip fences serve the same broad purpose, but they are different designs.
| Feature | Wingtip fence | Sharklet |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Small surfaces extending above and below the wingtip | Tall, blended surface extending upwards and sweeping outwards |
| Typical installation | Common on earlier A320-family aircraft | Factory-fitted on newer examples or installed through an approved retrofit |
| Purpose | Reduces wingtip-related drag | Designed to deliver a greater overall efficiency improvement |
A typical A320 sharklet is about 2.4 metres tall. It increases the aircraft’s wingspan from roughly 34.1 metres with fences to about 35.8 metres, making the two configurations easy to distinguish.
Do sharklets make an A320 an A320neo?
No: a sharklet-equipped A320 is not necessarily an A320neo. Later A320ceo aircraft could be delivered with sharklets, and eligible older aircraft could receive them as a retrofit; the A320neo combines sharklets with newer engines and other changes.
Our comparison of the A320neo and A320ceo differences explains why the engine type remains the more useful identifier. Sharklets also appear across several members of the family, so consult our guide to A320-family variants when distinguishing an A319, A320 or A321.
Do sharklets affect an A320 in a flight simulator?
Sharklets affect a simulator aircraft only when its flight model includes the corresponding aerodynamic and performance changes. A visually accurate model may show sharklets while retaining the same drag and fuel-flow data as a fence-equipped version.
A mistake we see constantly is applying a four per cent fuel reduction manually to every simulated flight. Use the performance calculator, electronic flight bag or planning data supplied with that particular aircraft instead. If separate airframes are available, select the sharklet model rather than assuming a livery changes the wing geometry.
For visual identification, this sharklet-equipped A320-200 simulator model shows the tall upward-swept tip clearly. The compact upper-and-lower fins on an older A320 model are wingtip fences, not sharklets.