Airbus starts A321 aircraft production in China’s Tianjin

At its Final Assembly Line Asia (FALA) facility in Tianjin, north China, the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus began producing A321 aircraft on Wednesday, demonstrating that China is capable of supplying all models of Airbus’ A320 family of aircraft.

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Early next year is anticipated for delivery of the first A321 built in Tianjin. As of right now, the company’s backlog of A321 aircraft makes up about 60% of its whole global backlog for the A320 series of aircraft. The single-aisle A321 variant can carry more than 200 passengers and can travel long distances with the same capacity as a wide-bodied aircraft, but at less expensive operating costs.

China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–25) projects that by 2025, the nation’s civil aviation industry will transport 930 million passengers and 9.5 million tonnes of cargo and packages annually. By 2025, there will be more than 70 countries and regions connected to China by air, and more than 50 of them will be partners in the Belt and Road Initiative.

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By beginning A321 production, Airbus has conveyed encouraging messages to China, according to Zhang Yi, an associate professor at the Economic and Management College of the Civil Aviation University of China. Zhang said he thinks it demonstrates the assurance and optimism of Airbus and other European businesses on the swift recovery and expansion of Asia’s aviation sector.

Despite having a big population, China’s aviation sector has significant potential because the number of yearly air passenger flights per person in the nation is less than 0.5, compared to a rate of about 2.5 for developed nations.

Over the next two decades, China will continue to be the world’s largest market for new aircraft. “Of the nearly 4,000 commercial aircraft in the Chinese market, 2,100 Airbus aircraft account for more than 50% of the total,” added Xu. According to him, Airbus’ growth in China has been made possible by the country’s civil aviation industry chain’s development.

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