The first A321neo aircraft to be assembled in Toulouse, France, has rolled off the final assembly line.
The aircraft, which will shortly be delivered to Turkish carrier Pegasus Airlines, was assembled at the Jean-Luc Lagardère facility, within the Airbus complex in Blagnac. This is the same building that used to house the A380 assembly line until its closure in December 2021 when it was retooled to produce A321neo aircraft.
The repurposed assembly line was officially inaugurated in July 2023, although it had already begun work in its current configuration by late 2022. The facility is expected to reach its full output capacity by 2025, when it will employ around 700 workers (compared to 400 currently).
Airbus decided to convert the assembly line to produce A321neo aircraft after orders for the A380 dried up, all while demand for the latest generation of A320 family aircraft remained strong. The A321 currently represents around 60% of the orders.
The European manufacturer aims to produce 75 A320 family aircraft per month by 2026.
A321neo aircraft are also assembled at Airbus factories in Hamburg, Germany, and Mobile, Alabama, in the United States.