Airbus has delivered the first A320 Family aircraft assembled at its second Final Assembly Line (FAL) located in Tianjin, North China, an A320neo plane to China Eastern Airlines on September 16, 2026. Photo: Courtesy of Airbus China

Airbus has delivered the first A320 Family aircraft assembled at its second Final Assembly Line (FAL) located in Tianjin, North China, an A320neo plane to China Eastern Airlines, on Wednesday.

The delivery marks a major milestone in Airbus' industrial footprint expansion in China and across its global industrial system.

Since the inauguration of the first FAL in Tianjin in 2008, Airbus' first commercial aircraft assembly line outside Europe, the facility has assembled and delivered over 800 A320 Family planes. 

The second assembly line, inaugurated in October 2025, will enable Airbus to significantly increase production to the benefit of customers in China and beyond. 

According to Airbus' latest Global Market Forecast released earlier this month, Chinese market will need 8,830 new passenger aircraft over the next two decades. This massive demand accounts for more than 20 percent of the total global demand for 42,060 new passenger planes forecasted for the same period.

The second line also complements the global Airbus production network of 10 Final Assembly Lines - four in Hamburg (Germany), two in Toulouse (France), two in Mobile (United States), and two in Tianjin (China). 

China Eastern Airlines took delivery of China's first Airbus aircraft, an A310 plane in 1985, marking the beginning of a long-term cooperation with Airbus that has lasted for over 40 years. 

China Eastern currently operates the largest Airbus fleet in the Chinese mainland, including 393 A320 Family aircraft, 56 A330 Family aircraft, and 20 A350-900 aircraft at the end of August 2026. 


Global Times