MOBILE, AL: August 05, 2019. Airbus has officially launched the manufacture of the A220 aircraft in the US following the recent return of its first production team from on-the-job training in Mirabel, Canada where its primary final assembly line is based.
“The expansion of our commercial aircraft production in Mobile to a second product line further solidifies Airbus’ standing as a truly global aircraft manufacturer, and confirms without a doubt that Airbus is an important part of America’s manufacturing landscape,” said Airbus Americas chairman and CEO Jeffrey Knittel. “With Mobile, and our production network in Asia, Canada and Europe, we have strategically created a worldwide industrial base to better serve our customers.”
Airbus announced plans for the addition of A220 manufacturing in Mobile in October 2017. Construction on the main A220 flowline hangar and other support buildings for the new aircraft began at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley at the beginning of this year.
The first US-made A220 – an A220-300 destined for Delta Air Lines – is scheduled for delivery in Q3 2020. By the middle of next decade, the facility is expected to produce between 40 and 50 aircraft per year.
In June Delta announced it had increased its order to 95 aircraft and expects to take delivery of 45 -100s and 50 -300s over the next four years.
With an order book of 551 aircraft as of end of June, the A220 serves the 100-to-150-seat airline market, estimated to be 7,000 aircraft over the next 20 years.
The company says it has purchased US$48 billion of components and materials from American suppliers in the last three years and currently supports more than 275,000 American jobs. Its facilities in the US include engineering centres in Kansas and Alabama; training facilities in Florida and Colorado; materials support and headquarters in Virginia; an innovative think tank (A3) in California; a drone data analysis business (Airbus Aerial) in Atlanta, Georgia; helicopter manufacturing and assembly facilities in Texas and Mississippi; and a satellite manufacturing facility (OneWeb) in Florida.
