Airbus officially opened its first jetliner factory in the USA on Sept. 14, 2015. The $600 million final assembly line at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley in Mobile, Alabama, will build the company’s A320 family of single-aisle jets.
The plant
- The plant is one of four sites worldwide that assemble the A320 family. The others are in Toulouse, Hamburg and Tianjin, China.
- Airbus plans to build 40 to 50 aircraft a year in Mobile once it reaches full production in 2018. It expects to employ about 1,000 workers by then.
- About 260 production workers had been hired by the opening, Reuters reported.
- Work on the first Alabama-assembled jet, an A321 for JetBlue, was already under way. A second A321 was being built for American Airlines.
“Today shows that Airbus is truly becoming a global manufacturer and a truly American manufacturer,” Airbus CEO Fabrice Brégier said at the ceremony.
Why Mobile
Alabama provided more than $150 million in incentives, The Telegraph reported. Building in the USA puts Airbus closer to its biggest single-aisle rival, Boeing, and its U.S. airline customers. It also reduces the company’s exposure to swings between the dollar and the euro. Analysts noted that shipping wings from Broughton, Wales, to Mobile will add costs.
The first jet from the plant was delivered to JetBlue in April 2016 (our coverage).
Source & credit
Sources: Made in Alabama (Alabama Department of Commerce): “Airbus Alabama production launch to boost aerospace sector”, Sept. 14, 2015; Reuters: “Airbus draws union interest as it opens first U.S. factory”, Sept. 14, 2015; The Telegraph: “Airbus takes fight to Boeing’s backyard as it opens Alabama factory”, by Alan Tovey, Sept. 12, 2015.