Industry Airbus delivers first A321 from Tianjin Final Assembly Line

After announcing to implement the Airbus A321 aircraft type into its Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Tianjin, Airbus has now delivered the first of many to come. Juneyao Airlines has taken delivery of an Airbus A321neo, powered by Pratt & Whitney GTF engines and 207 seats in a two-class configuration.

The delivery flight was performed using a 10 percent Sustainable Aviation Fuel blend to support the green aviation strategy in China. Airbus began the commissioning of the first Tianjin-built A321 in November and after all needed flight tests, the aircraft is now being integrated into regular passenger service.

George Xu, Airbus Executive Vice President and Airbus China CEO, commented: “The successful delivery of the first A321 aircraft enables Airbus to honour the popularity of the aircraft for the China market and beyond - and the consistent trust and support from our customers. Airbus continues to expand and enhance its comprehensive cooperation with China’s aviation industry, underlining its long-term commitment to China to ensure customer proximity while supporting the global commercial aircraft production ramp-up.”

Next to Tianjin in China, Airbus has several FAL around the world. The main assembly line for the A320 Family is located in Hamburg-Finkenwerder, followed by Toulouse in France and Mobile in the United States. In the near future, the Toulouse facility will also be converted to be A321-capable, making every single FAL capable of producing the popular aircraft.

The FAL in Tianjin was inaugurated in 2008 and has been a success for the manufacturer. It was the first commercial aircraft assembly line outside Europe and has since the first A320 delivery in 2009 produced more than 600 aircraft in 14 years.

Delivery customer of the first Tianjin-built A321 Juneyao Airlines was founded in 2005 and is operating since 2006. Currently, the Chinese operator flies with 49 Airbus A320, including 18 A320neo, 32 A321, including five A321neo and also six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner for long-haul operations.