Airbus began the assembly of the first A321 at its Chinese Final Assembly Line (called FAL Tianjin) in Tianjin, China. The manufacturer thus deepens its relationship with the Chinese aerospace industry and demonstrates its long-term commitment to the Asian country.
FAL Tianjin began being retrofitted to produce A321s in August this year, in the first expansion of the assembly line since it began operations in 2008. Delivery of the first Chinese A321 is scheduled for early 2023.
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George Xu, Airbus Executive Vice President and CEO of its Chinese branch, said: «Since announcing our plans to manufacture the A321 at FAL Tianjin last November, our team has successfully completed the retrofit work on schedule, working with European experts and suppliers to overcome the impact of COVID-19. The start of production of our first A321 underlines Airbus’ commitment to China,» he said.
Airbus has four A320 Family assembly facilities worldwide: Toulouse, Hamburg, Tianjin, and Mobile. By the end of 2022, all of these assembly centers will be adapted to produce the A321, in order to meet the growing share of A320 Family orders that the model imports.
FAL Tianjin was Airbus’ first commercial aircraft assembly line outside Europe. Since its first A320 delivery in 2009, more than 600 aircraft have left the facility.
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