The first Airbus A321neo built at the planemaker’s former A380 assembly line facility in Toulouse, France, has been delivered to Turkish carrier Pegasus Airlines.
The former Airbus A380 ‘Jean-Luc Lagardère’ building was converted into a A320 family Final Assembly Line (FAL) after manufacturing of the superjumbo jet was stopped.
A special ceremony marking the exchange of ‘Mercan’ was held in Toulouse, attended by Pegasus Chairman Mehmet Nane and General Manager Güliz Öztürk.
According to a statement released by Airbus on December 27, 2023, the A321neo now accounts for nearly 65% of the A320 family order backlog so a new facility was very much in need when it opened in July 2023.
With the Toulouse facility now producing aircraft, Airbus hopes that along with the assembly lines in Hamburg (Germany), Mobile (United States) and Tianjin (China), around 75 A320 family aircraft will be made per month in 2026.
The French facility is expected to reach its full output capacity by 2025, when it will employ around 700 workers (compared to 400 currently).
Pegasus Airlines’ current Airbus fleet stands at 93 aircraft, including six A320ceo, 46 A320neo and 41 A321neo. The airline also has 68 A321neos on order.
More than 5,600 A321neos have been ordered by over 100 Airbus customers worldwide.