Guess what? On Wednesday, December 17, 2025, Airbus celebrated a major aviation milestone 🎉—delivering its 800th A320 Family aircraft assembled at its final assembly line in Tianjin Municipality on the Chinese mainland. This A321neo sports 12 business class seats and 186 economy seats in a two-class cabin, and it’s joining Air China’s fleet.
Inaugurated in 2008, the Tianjin FALA was Airbus’ first production line outside Europe. After 17 years, it’s still going strong, building A319s, A320s, and A321s non-stop. Since the first A320 rolled off the line in 2009, the plant hit its 500th delivery in October 2020 and its 700th this past July 2024.
Just this October 22, Airbus kicked off its second A320 assembly line in Tianjin, doubling down on its presence in Asia. Today, Airbus has 10 final assembly lines worldwide—4 in Germany, 2 in France, 2 in the United States, and 2 on the Chinese mainland—with Tianjin set to handle 20% of global output.
The A320 Family is a hit, with over 19,000 orders from 300+ customers. Airbus teams in China are racing to reach a production rate of 75 aircraft per month by 2027 to keep up with demand 🚀.
Data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China shows 470 million people took at least one flight on the Chinese mainland in 2025—160 million more than in 2019—making it the world’s largest flying population. One-third of the planes in China’s fleet were built in Tianjin, and in 2024 about 25% of the jets assembled there flew off to airlines outside the Chinese mainland.
A robust network of around 200 Chinese suppliers powers Airbus’ production, providing everything from raw materials to system assembly. Looking ahead, industry forecasts predict China’s annual air passenger traffic will grow by an average of 5.3% over the next 20 years, faster than the global average of 3.6%. By 2042, China alone will need more than 9,000 of the 40,000 new aircraft required worldwide.
George Xu, Airbus executive vice president and Airbus China CEO, said this milestone underlines Airbus’ 40-year commitment to the Chinese mainland and its aim to deepen strategic partnerships. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury added that China’s aviation market has huge potential, and Airbus is dedicated to strengthening its industrial footprint on the Chinese mainland while contributing to positive relations with the European Union 🌐.
Clearly, the skies over the Chinese mainland are only getting busier—fasten your seat belts for the next chapter in global aviation!
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
