Airbus will inaugurate a second A320-family final assembly line in Mobile, Alabama, on October 13, and then move quickly to expand its A320 line in Tianjin, China. This sequencing boosts narrowbody output while walking a geopolitical tightrope between Washington and Beijing. The Mobile opening adds capacity alongside Airbus’s existing A320 and A220 lines at the site; Alabama officials signaled the October start as part of a decade-long expansion of the U.S. facility.
In China, Airbus is moving forward with a second Tianjin A320 line, which is tied to long-term plans to increase global single-aisle production. The project was initially slated to come online by late 2025, with subsequent guidance indicating early 2026 as a more realistic timeline. This adjustment reflects supply-chain and political headwinds, despite strong demand remaining.
Strategically, the twin moves support Airbus’s drive toward 75 A320-family jets per month by 2027, while maintaining neutrality amid U.S.–China trade sensitivities. In short, Mobile’s new line and Tianjin’s expansion are the production bookends Airbus needs to keep feeding record narrowbody backlogs without choosing sides in an increasingly fraught political landscape.
Sources: Simple Flying, The Business Times
Images: Made in Alabama, Business Alabama