Airbus’ Big Announcement

Airbus has made a big announcement surrounding its future in China.

The planemaker has confirmed it has opened a second Final Assembly Line (FAL) for the A320 family aircraft to be located in Tianjin, China.

For the planemaker, the latest facility opening has been a long time in the making, with an agreement reached in April 2023 between the CEO of Airbus and the Tianjin Free Trade Zone Investment Company, alongside the Aviation Industry Corporation of China.

With the opening, the expectation is that preparations for the first aircraft will continue to move in the right direction, leading to the whole operation of the facility, which is targeted for early 2026.

Airbus said it was very pleased to welcome Tianjin’s second line to what is now an ever-evolving global production system, and more importantly, aligns with the planemaker’s hopes for production increases.

With the A320neo program in such high demand, Airbus has made it clear that it wants to assemble 75 aircraft from this broader family per month in 2027, an ambitious feat when considering the recent supply chain struggles.

As a result of these ambitions, the planemaker recognises that it needs to scale production in some way, and the opening of the new facility enables it to strengthen its partnership with China’s civil aviation community.

This new line will directly tie in with an increase in production for customers, not just within China, but also for those in neighbouring locations, with greater access and support for specific airlines.

Additionally, with a global production network spanning other markets, such as Four in Hamburg, Germany; two in Toulouse, France; two in Mobile, the United States; and two in Tianjin, China, this is another crucial step in expanding coverage.

For Airbus, the opening of its second and newest final assembly line in China is a significant milestone, marking the company’s initial entry into the country in 2008 and the establishment of its first Airbus production line outside of Europe.

Since Airbus opened this facility, it has delivered over 780 A320 family aircraft, and the expectation is that this number will continue to grow with time, especially with additional aircraft orders from airlines.

An Airbus Order From China?

A new sizable order, which could put these final assembly lines in China to work, has already been heavily reported.

In August, it was reported that a Group of airlines in China was considering a purchase of new Airbus planes as a real possibility, with the deal potentially including up to 500 aircraft.

The deal, which has yet to be confirmed and is in the planning stages, is a response to the requirement to secure large aircraft orders of this scale sooner rather than later, as delivery slots are being snapped up.

While the major international airlines, such as Air China and China Southern, were speculated to be the larger beneficiaries from such a deal, it’s thought that those of Xiaman Air and the Sichuan Airlines Group, which are also seeking to expand their networks, would receive some of the planes.

The ability for Western planemakers to sell aircraft to China has been questioned quite substantially over recent years, with persistent tensions at times preventing contracts from being signed.

As COMAC continues to attempt to steal market share, Airbus and even its competitor Boeing know they must continue to find ways to innovate and work through tensions to sell aircraft to what is an incredibly important market.