Exit the legendary A380. Converted for the assembly of the “best-sellers” of the A320 family, the Jean-Luc Lagardère hall in Blagnac, near Toulouse, experienced the second grand inauguration in its history on Monday. Thanks to this new final assembly line (FAL), from which the first aircraft will emerge in 2024, Airbus expects to reach 75 single-aisle aircraft per month “by mid-decade”, compared to 45 in 2022.
The current eight assembly lines – two in Toulouse, four in Hamburg, one in Mobile (United States) and one in Tianjin (China) – are insufficient for such a rate.
Especially since nearly 60% of the aircraft to be delivered are A321s, with greater capacity and therefore more complex to produce than the A320. This new line is capable of producing both A320s and A321s, whereas the two other FALs in Toulouse can only produce A320s.
720 aircraft to be delivered during the year
In addition, Airbus delivered a total of 72 commercial aircraft in June, allowing it to catch up some of the delay on its annual objectives. Affected by the difficulties of some of its 18,000 suppliers (raw materials, components, labor, etc.), the European industrial giant was indeed struggling at the start of the year to reach the production rate necessary for manufacturing. of the 720 devices promised in 2023.
But the trend has changed significantly in recent months. Already in May, Airbus had delivered 63 aircraft, after 54 in April, when it had only managed to release 127 aircraft in total in the first quarter.
The “new” Toulouse plant, which will employ around 700 people by 2025, also has a greener touch. It includes, for example, “digital production control using tablets and smartphones to reduce paper consumption”,