Joint venture contract signed for the A320 Family Final Assembly Line in Tianjin

The joint venture contract for the Airbus A320 Family Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Tianjin was signed today in Beijing between the Chinese Consortium and Airbus in the Great Hall of the People. Visiting German Minister of Economics and Technology Michael Glos and Airbus Chief Operating Officer Fabrice Brégier attended the signature ceremony.

Upon the creation of the joint venture, Airbus will hold 51 per cent of the shares, while the Chinese Consortium will hold 49 per cent.

The Chinese Consortium comprises Tianjin Free Trade Zone (TJFTZ) holding a 60 per cent interest, China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I) holding 20 per cent and China Aviation Industry Corporation II (AVIC II) holding 20 per cent of their 49 per cent.

On the occasion of the signing, 86 of the 150 A320 Family aircraft firmly ordered under the General Terms Agreement signed between CASGC and Airbus in October 2006, were allocated to six Chinese customers. Agreements were signed with Shenzhen Airlines for 28 A320 family aircraft, with Sichuan Airlines for 18 A320 family aircraft, with China Aviation Suppliers Import and Export Group Corporation (CASGC) 15 A320 family aircraft, with Hainan Airlines for 13 A320 family aircraft, with Spring Airline and Juneyao Airlines for six A320 family aircraft respectively. Nearly half of these 150 A320 family aircraft will be assembled and delivered in Tianjin.

Dai Xianglong, Mayor of Tianjin, said at the signature ceremony: "The Airbus A320 Final Assembly Line in Tianjin is a remarkable achievement of the Chinese-European cooperation in the field of civil aviation. It will play an important role in further promoting the development of the Chinese civil aviation industry and speeding up the opening up of Tianjin Binhai New Coastal District. Tianjin Municipal Government will fully support this important project and make it an excellent example of Chinese-European cooperation.”

“I am very proud to witness this historic contract signature today. We achieved remarkable progress with our Chinese partners in the past eight months since we signed the Framework Agreement last October. Once again, this event demonstrates Airbus’ commitment to further enhancing our industrial cooperation with the Chinese aviation industry. We are confident that this project will create win-win results and have an unprecedented impact on the already-close cooperation between the Chinese aviation industry and Airbus,” said Fabrice Bregier, Airbus Chief Operating Officer.

The construction on the Airbus A320 Family Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Tianjin was officially kicked off on 15th May 2007. The assembly of the first aircraft in China will start in August 2008 and it will be delivered in the first half of 2009. The ramp up production for the Final Assembly Line in Taijin will reach four aircraft a month in 2011.

The FAL in Tianjin will be based on the latest state-of-the-art Airbus single aisle final assembly line in Hamburg, Germany. The aircraft will be assembled and delivered in China to the same standards as those assembled and delivered in Europe.

The A320 Family, recognized as the benchmark single-aisle aircraft family, also includes the A318, the A319 and A321 versions and features the newest and most modern design of any single-aisle airliner. An advanced fuel-saving aerodynamic design, including wingtip fences, centralized maintenance with extended servicing intervals, and proven reliability in day-to-day service help to give it the lowest operative costs.

Currently, ten operators on the Chinese Mainland operate over 270 A320 family aircraft. According to Airbus’ latest Global Market Forecast, Chinese Mainland will need more than 1,900 single aircraft in the next 20 years.