Airbus has delivered the first Airbus A321neo to have been built on its Tianjin, China-based Final Assembly Line (FAL).
The aircraft, registered as B-32DF, was handed over to China-based Juneyao Air, marking the first delivery of an A321neo from the Tianjin FAL. In addition, the delivery was completed using a 10% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) blend, reducing the flight’s emissions.
“Since we announced the commissioning of the first A321 aircraft at FAL Tianjin last November, the relevant final assembly activities and tests went smoothly, showcasing the maturity of FAL Tianjin to quickly adapt to new products,” said George Xu, Executive Vice President at Airbus and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Airbus China. Xu added that the delivery of the A321neo “enables Airbus to honor the popularity of the aircraft for the China market and beyond – and the consistent trust and support from our customers”.
In total, Juneyao Air currently operates 88 aircraft, including 18 A320neo and six A321neos. Four new A321neos are due to be delivered to the airline soon too, per ch-aviation.com data. This excludes B-32DF, previously registered as B-007D, which departed from and landed at Tianjin Binhai International Airport (TSN) on February 24, 2023. It first flew on January 10, 2023.
Since though, however, the aircraft has not moved from TSN, according to flightradar24.com data.
Airbus began assembling the first A321neo in the Tianjin FAL in November 2022. At the time, the manufacturer indicated that the aircraft would be delivered “in early 2023”. In addition to the A321neo, the Chinese FAL also builds A319neo and A320neo aircraft, with the site also hosting a widebody completion and delivery center (C&DC) for the A330 and A350s. The European Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) delivered the first Airbus A350 from the Tianjin C&DC in July 2021.
Tianjin was the OEM’s first FAL outside of Europe, delivering its first aircraft, namely an Airbus A320, in 2009. Since then, the manufacturer has opened up assembly lines in Mobile, Alabama, the United States (US), where the A220 and A320 aircraft families are also assembled. Meanwhile Airbus also builds the A220 in Mirabel, Montreal, Canada, an assembly line it purchased from Bombardier together with the A220 program in 2018.
Airbus constructs the A320 family aircraft in Toulouse, France and Hamburg, Germany, in addition to FALs in Mobile and Montreal. Following the end of the production of the A380, Airbus indicated that it would add an A321 FAL to what was previously the manufacturing site of the Super Jumbo.