Airbus delivered the first A350 from its widebody “completion & delivery center” in Tianjin, China. The A350-900 aircraft was delivered to China Eastern Airlines (CIAH) (CEA), the largest Airbus operator in Asia and second-largest in the world, with a fleet of 413 Airbus aircraft.
“I’m proud that Airbus successfully extended the capability of the widebody C&DC in Tianjin to the A350, the latest new generation aircraft, at such a difficult time of global aviation,” said George Xu, Airbus Executive Vice President and Airbus China CEO. “This is a new milestone in the long-term cooperation between China and Airbus, which further demonstrates Airbus’ commitment to the country. Congratulations to China Eastern Airlines (CIAH) (CEA), our long-term strategic partner, for receiving the first A350 delivered from China, and I appreciate their trust in Airbus and in our products as always.”
Airbus Tianjin widebody facility covers cabin installation, aircraft painting and production flight test, as well as customer flight acceptance and aircraft delivery. The widebody center was inaugurated in September 2017 with its capability on A330s.
It is located at the same site as the Tianjin A320 Family Final Assembly Line, which opened in 2008 as the manufacturer’s first final assembly line for the A320 narrowbody jet outside Europe.
Airbus order book as of June 2021 includes 915 firm orders from 49 customers worldwide for the A350 family.