News
Airbus launches Tianjin A330 centre
March 1st 2016
The new A330 Cabin and Delivery Centre (CDC) is good news for Chinese airlines,” said Airbus China CEO, Eric Chen, at a news conference celebrating the ground breaking of the manufacturer’s first A330 CDC, in Tianjin, on March 2. Read More »
“As air traffic limitations, airport congestion and pilot shortages continue to hinder airline growth in China, we need larger aircraft such as the A330,” said Chen, who was the first Chinese national to join the aircraft manufacturer.
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The A330 CDC will be a facility where a flyable aircraft “in green” will arrive from its final assembly line (FAL) in Toulouse to have its cabin installed, furnished and exterior painted. The facility is on schedule to open in September 2017, with an output of one aircraft a month. By 2018, Airbus said it will deliver two A330s every four weeks out of Tianjin for a total of seven a month, including those produced in Toulouse.
“The cooperation with China is going extremely well. China is growing extremely fast. We need wide bodies for domestic and international growth, so we are targeting the A330,” said Airbus CEO, Fabrice Brégier, on the side lines of the Tianjin ceremony. “I think this is only the beginning of a long and successful journey,” he said. “I am personally committed to the partnership with China.”
Having delivered an average 20 A330s to Mainland carriers a year in the past decade, Airbus believed the Tianjin plant will offer a “win-win” opportunity for local airlines and the manufacturer to work closely during the final delivery stages.
“It takes 30 minutes by express train for Air China’s managers to travel from Beijing to Tianjin,” said Chen, a 31-year veteran of Airbus. “It is a big improvement for executives who ordinarily would spend up to a week travelling between France and the Mainland to take delivery of their aircraft.”
This may have been the rationale behind the Mainland flag carrier’s announcement, in the week of the ground breaking ceremony, for 12 additional -300ceo variants, with deliveries from 2016-2018. At press time, Chen did not confirm if the order was a new commitment or part of the 45+30 A330 orders placed by China Aircraft Supplies last July when the A330 Tianjin CDC plans were unveiled.
“The continuing news about the slowing Chinese economy does not worry us,” said Chen, who added Airbus has grown its market share on the Mainland from 6% in 1995 to 50% today.
Its expansion was aided significantly by its Final Assembly Line for the A319/A320, also in the port city of Tianjin. The facility will start manufacturing the re-engined neo from 2017, with the first delivery to a “Chinese customer” scheduled for June that year. Airbus Tianjin general manager, Andreas Ockel, said demand for the A319 is shrinking and the Tianjin plant could potentially switch to production of the larger A321.
China’s air travel market is forecast to increase to 1.7 billion in 2034, which will make China the largest civil aviation market in the world. Airbus forecast China will need 5,400 new passenger and cargo aircraft in the next two decades.
Chen predicted the market could become even bigger, and very quickly, if the Chinese government improved its bilaterals that would allow its nationals visa-free access to Europe and the U.S.
“If travellers no longer require a visa to travel to Europe or the U.S., international air travel originating in China would skyrocket,” said Chen. “If that happened, even the A380 would not be big enough.” ■
