China/Europe

Airbus delivers first made-in-China A320

Article published on the 2009-06-23 Latest update 2009-06-23 11:38 TU

The first Airbus A320 made in China, 23 June 2009.
(Photo: Reuters/China Daily)

European aviation giant Airbus delivered the first A320 aircraft made at its factory in Tianjin, northern China on Tuesday. The jet is the first to be completed at an Airbus factory outside of Europe and it becomes part of the Sichuan Airlines fleet, flying routes in the region.

Airbus CEO Thomas Enders said it underlined the consortium's long-term relationship with China. "We will build a strong future with the China aviation industry and for the China aviation industry," he said.

Speaking at the launch in Tianjin, where the joint-venture factory is located, about 120 kilometres south-east of the capital, Beijing, the city's mayor Huang Xingguo called Tuesday's event "a historic day" for Sino-European cooperation. The ceremony was also attended by the British and French ambassadors to China, German State Secretary Hartmut Schauerte and other top Tianjin officials.

The plane was then delivered to Dragon Aviation Leasing and flown to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province on Tuesday.

The plant in Tianjin is due to deliver another ten middle-distance A319/320 aircraft by the end of the year, and the factory will then start to churn out up to four planes a month before the end of 2011. The factory represents an investment of nearly 10 billion yuan (one billion euros) and went into operation in September. It is 51 percent owned by Airbus, a subsidiary of the European group EADS, and 49 percent by a Chinese aviation consortium.

China's air market, the second biggest in the world, accounts for 15 percent of sales at Airbus. It sold its first plane in China, an A310, in 1985. China is expected to spend about 329 billion dollars on new passenger planes in the next two decades, as industry estimates forecast that passenger travel will increase five-fold.

Airbus is aiming to win half of the market in China within three years. By comparison, in 1995 the European aircraft manufacturer had a seven-percent market share in China. Its main rival is current global market leader Boeing.