Airbus has for the first time delivered to a European customer an aircraft assembled in Tianjin, northern China, marking a significant milestone in its global supply chain.
The delivery ceremony for the A321neo to Hungarian airline Wizz Air took place on Tuesday. In this context, the General Manager of the Airbus Delivery Center in Tianjin, Christoph Schrempp, told local media that this delivery marks the beginning of a new era for the manufacturer in the region, as China’s robust economic recovery has allowed the Tianjin final assembly line to demonstrate remarkable resilience and ability to grow and serve international demand.
The Airbus plant in Tianjin was inaugurated in 2008, and the first aircraft, an A320, left there in 2009. Since then, more than 600 aircraft have been delivered, primarily to serve the Chinese market demand, but given the disruptions faced by the global supply chain, it is now a new source of new aircraft for the West.
In April, Airbus announced plans to double its production in Tianjin by introducing a second assembly line. CEO Guillaume Faury emphasized the company’s intention to establish a “strong presence with critical mass” in the key markets of China, the U.S., and Europe. Having production lines scattered around the world, he said, allows Airbus to have “responsiveness”, allowing it to quickly recover from difficulties encountered at any of the factories.
In March of this year, the company had delivered the first A321neo assembled in Tianjin to Juneyao Airlines.
The Wizz Air fleet consists of 22 A320s, 33 A321s, and 34 A321neos. As part of Indigo Partners (also a shareholder in JetSMART, Volaris, and Frontier), Wizz Air has a backlog of orders with Airbus for more than 100 A321s, 27 of them the A321XLR version, which will enable it to launch new point-to-point routes. This is complemented by other orders for dozens of A320neos.
See also: Indigo Partners announces an order of 255 A321neos for Volaris, JetSMART, Frontier, and Wizz Air
