European aircraft manufacturer Airbus said on Thursday that it is expected to deliver widebody A350 aircraft from its completion and delivery center in Tianjin from the first quarter of next year.
The Airbus Tianjin widebody completion and delivery center, the company's first widebody completion and delivery center outside Europe, is gradually shifting its work, including cabin installation and aircraft painting, to A350XWB.
"At the beginning, the delivery rate of A350 from Tianjin won't be too fast, and we plan to gradually increase the delivery rate to about one aircraft a month. China will become a very important strategic market for Airbus," said George Xu, CEO of Airbus China.
Meanwhile, Airbus delivered its 500th A320 family aircraft from its final assembly line in Tianjin to China Southern Airlines on Thursday. By the end of September, China Southern, the largest carrier in terms of fleet size in China, had an Airbus fleet of 368 aircraft, comprising A320,A330, A350 and A380.
"The delivery of the 500th A320 family aircraft, an A320neo, assembled in Tianjin, is an important achievement of Airbus in China. It is a testimony to the excellent industrial cooperation between the Chinese aviation industry and Airbus. We are ready to develop and grow our strategic partnership in China," Xu said.
