Economy

Airbus Tianjin to deliver 26 A320 family jets in 2010

By Hou Lei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-05-27 16:31

An Airbus A320 jetliner assembled in the Airbus Tianjin factory is delieved to Shenzhen Airlines on May 26, 2010. [sina.com.cn]

Airbus Tianjin factory said it plans to deliver 26 Airbus A320 family jetliners in this year, China News Service reported Thursday, citing the factory's general manager Jean-Luc Charles.

Airbus (Tianjin) Final Assembly Line, the only A320 family aircraft production plant of Airbus outside Europe, said it has delivered 10 A320 series single-aisle jets from this January to May, according to the report.

Related readings:  Airbus A320 equipped with China-made wings  Shenzhen Airlines gets a Tianjin-assembled A320  Airbus delivers 1st China-assembled A320 jet  China Eastern to buy 20 Airbus A320 jets

Jean-Luc Charles told China News Service their target for this year is delivering 26 A320 family aircraft and they plan to improve the production capacity to four aircraft per month in 2012 from the current two per month.

Tianjian plant assembles two kinds of A320 family jets, the A320 and A319. Since last June, it has delivered sixteen A320s and five A319s to seven Chinese airlines including China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines, both of which are among China's largest carriers.

Airbus CEO Thomas Enders promised last year the A320 planes assembled in Tianjin shared the same standards as those made in Europe.

Airbus A320 family aircraft, including A318, A319, A320 and A321, are among the world most popular commercial jetliners with more than 6,500 orders till now. By this April, 12 carriers in the Chinese mainland operate as many as 481 aircraft of the A320 family.

Air China and China Southern Airlines each ordered 20 A320 series jets in this February and January respectively.