(Xinhua)
European aircraft manufacturer Airbus delivered its 800th A320 Family aircraft assembled at its Airbus A320 Family Final Assembly Line in Asia (FALA) in northern China’s Tianjin Municipality on Wednesday.
This aircraft, an A321neo with 12 business class seats and 186 economy class seats in a two-class configuration, was delivered to Air China.
Inaugurated in 2008, the Tianjin FALA, the first Airbus production line established outside Europe, is currently able to produce the Airbus A319, A320 and A321 models. It has been in operation for 17 years, making it a symbol of the fruitful cooperation between China and Europe.
Since delivering its first Airbus A320 in 2009, FALA has delivered the 500th and 700th A320 family aircraft in October 2020 and July 2024, respectively. Today, just over a year later, FALA celebrated the delivery of its 800th A320 Family aircraft assembled in Tianjin.
“This demonstrates Airbus’ continued commitment to deepening its strategic partnerships in China, reinforcing our 40 years of engagement in the country,” said George Xu, Executive Vice President of Airbus and CEO of Airbus China.
Airbus inaugurated its latest final assembly line for the A320 family aircraft in Tianjin on October 22, the second of its kind in China and Asia.
To date, the Airbus A320 production network has expanded to ten final assembly lines: four in Germany, two in France, two in the United States and two in China, with Tianjin’s assembly capacity expected to represent 20% of the company’s total capacity globally.
Xu noted that Airbus’s growth in China reflected its increasing market share, with China now the largest domestic market for Airbus commercial aircraft.
The company forecasts that China’s annual air passenger volume will increase by an average of 5.3% over the next 20 years, surpassing the global average of 3.6%. To meet demand, by 2042, more than 9,000 of the 40,000 new aircraft needed globally will be delivered to China.
