Airbus Signs New Cooperation Agreements With China Aviation Industry Partners

Airbus has signed an agreement with the Tianjin Free Trade Zone Investment Company Ltd. and the Aviation Industry Corporation of China Ltd. to expand the company’s A320 Family final assembly capacity with a second line in Tianjin.

Airbis and China Aviation Industry Sign Next Phase in Partnership - Courtesy Airbus

On Thursday (April 6, 2023), Airbus announced the signing of a new agreement with the Tianjin Free Trade Investment Company Ltd. and Aviation Industry Corporation of China to add a second Airbus A320 Family final assembly line (FAL) at the company’ Tianjin site. The agreement will support Airbus’ goal of producing 75 Airbus A320 Family aircraft per month by 2026. Airbus currently has four A320 FAL sites, including Toulouse (France), Hamburg (Germany), Mobile, Alabama (U.S.), and Tianjin (China). The Tianjin FAL began operations in 2008, and the facility has since assembled over 600 A320 Family jets. In March 2023, the first A321neo aircraft was delivered from the Tianjin line, marking a new era of enhanced A320 Family production versatility.

In Thursday’s announcement, Airbus’ CEO, Guillaume Faury, said,

“We are honoured to continue our long-standing cooperation by supporting China’s civil aviation growth with our leading families of aircraft. It underpins the positive recovery momentum and prosperous outlook for the Chinese aviation market and the desire to grow sustainably with Airbus’ latest generation, eco-efficient aircraft. Airbus values its partnership with the Chinese aviation stakeholders and we feel privileged to remain a partner of choice in shaping the future of civil aviation in China.”

Additionally, Airbus has signed General Terms of Agreement (GTA) with the China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CAS) covering the purchase of 160 Airbus Commercial Aircraft. The GTA comprises earlier announcements for 150 A320 Family aircraft and 10 A350-900s. In line with their sustainability strategy, Airbus and the China National Aviation Fuel Group (CNAF) further signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to intensify Chinese-European cooperation on the production, competitive application and common standards formulation for SAF. Airbus entered the Chinese market in 1985, when an A310 was first delivered to China Eastern Airlines. As of March 31, 2023, the Airbus in service fleet in China totaled over 2,100 aircraft, representing over 50 percent of the market.

Source: Airbus