Airbus's Second Final Assembly Line in China Delivers First Aircraft, an A320neo, Received and Operated by China Eastern Airlines

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 16, Airbus's second A320 Family final assembly line in Tianjin, China completed the delivery of its first aircraft. The first aircraft delivered is an A320neo, received and operated by China Eastern Airlines. This milestone marks the transition of the second Tianjin final assembly line from the construction and production ramp-up phase to the formal delivery phase.

Airbus's second A320 Family final assembly line in Tianjin was officially inaugurated in October 2025. The project originated from a cooperation agreement signed by Airbus with Tianjin Free Trade Zone Investment Company Ltd. and Aviation Industry Corporation of China in April 2023. The second final assembly line, together with the existing A320 Family final assembly line in Tianjin, forms Airbus's single-aisle aircraft production system in China. Airbus previously stated that the new line will be integrated into its global A320 Family production network and support the company's goal of achieving a global production rate of 75 A320 Family aircraft per month by 2027.

The first A320 Family final assembly line in Tianjin was officially inaugurated in September 2008, and is the first civil aircraft final assembly line built by Airbus outside Europe. The project was constructed through cooperation between Airbus, the Tianjin authorities and Aviation Industry Corporation of China, and is responsible for the final assembly, testing and delivery of A320 Family aircraft. Since entering operation in 2008, the Tianjin final assembly system has delivered more than 800 A320 Family aircraft in total.

Following the start of production at the second Tianjin final assembly line, Airbus's A320 Family final assembly capacity in China has expanded from single-line to dual-line operations. The new line continues to adopt the standardized A320 Family final assembly process, including fuselage section joining, wing installation, systems testing, engine installation and final delivery preparation, and follows unified industrial standards with Airbus's A320 Family production systems in Europe and North America.

In March this year, China Eastern Airlines also confirmed an order for 101 A320neo Family aircraft, including the A320neo, A321neo and A321XLR, scheduled for delivery in batches from 2028 to 2032. The first A320neo delivered by the second Tianjin final assembly line is part of its existing fleet introduction arrangements and belongs to a different delivery batch from the 101 additional aircraft order announced in March.

Airbus's Tianjin final assembly system has also driven an increase in the scale of cross-border logistics for aircraft components. In June 2026, COSCO Shipping Europe, the Port of Hamburg and Logistics Co., Ltd. and Airbus expanded the aircraft component loading and unloading area in Hamburg, Germany, specifically to serve the transport of pre-assembled aircraft structures to the Tianjin final assembly line. In 2025, the terminal handled nearly 300 Airbus aircraft components with a total weight of more than 5,000 tonnes. After the expansion, the number of dedicated loading and unloading positions increased from 10 to 20.