Airbus has delivered their first A321neo form the company’s Final Assembly Line Asia (FAL Tianjin) to Juneyao Air. The aircraft is powered by Pratt & Whitney GTF engines, and is configured with eight Business Class and 199 Economy Class seats.
On Friday (March 24, 2023), Airbus announced that their Final Assembly Line Asia (FAL Tianjin) has delivered the first Airbus A321neo to China’s Juneyao Air in Tianjin, China. The aircraft is powered by Pratt & Whitney GTF engines and is configured with 207 seats, including eight Business Class and 199 Economy Class seats. The delivery flight was powered with 10 percent SAF. Airbus has four A320 FAL facilities around the world, with lines in Hamburg (Germany), Toulouse (France), Tianjin (China), and Mobile, Alabama (U.S.).
In Friday’s announcement, Airbus China’s Executive Vice President and CEO, George Xu, said,
“Since we announced the commissioning of the first A321 aircraft at FAL Tianjin last November, the relevant final assembly activities and tests went on smoothly, showcasing the maturity of FAL Tianjin to quickly adapt to new products. 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.”
Inaugurated in 2008, FAL Tianjin was the first Airbus commercial assembly line outside Europe. During the same year, the first aircraft sections arrived on site, followed by the first A320 delivery in 2009. Over the last 14 years of operation, FAL Tianjin has delivered more than 600 aircraft. The A321neo is the longest fuselage member of the A320 Family, and can seat as many as 244 passengers in a single class configuration. The aircraft has a range of 4,700 nm (8,700 km) and features the widest single-aisle cabin in the sky. With the combination of advanced technologies, new generation engines and sharklets, the aircraft delivers a 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, as well as a noise footprint reduction of 50 percent compared to previous generation aircraft. At the end of January 2023, Airbus had received over 8,600 A320neo Family firm orders from more than 130 customers worldwide.
Source: Airbus