Airbus has delivered the first A350 from its widebody completion and delivery centre in Tianjin, taking additional steps in the expansion of its global footprint and long-term strategic partnership with China.
The A350-900 aircraft was delivered to China Eastern Airlines, the largest Airbus operator in Asia and second largest in the world.
At the end of June, China Eastern Airlines operated an Airbus fleet of 413 aircraft, including 349 A320 family aircraft, 55 A330 family aircraft and nine A350 aircraft.
“I’m proud that Airbus successfully extended the capability of the widebody centre in Tianjin to the A350, the latest new generation aircraft, at such a difficult time of global aviation,” said George Xu, Airbus China chief executive.
“This is a new milestone in the long-term cooperation between China and Airbus, which further demonstrates Airbus’ commitment to the country.
“Congratulations to China Eastern Airlines, our long-term strategic partner, for receiving the first A350 delivered from China, and I appreciate their trust in Airbus and in our products as always.”
Located at the same site as the Airbus Tianjin A320 family final assembly line and the Airbus Tianjin delivery centre, the widebody facilit covers the aircraft completion activities, including cabin installation, aircraft painting and production flight test, as well as customer flight acceptance and aircraft delivery.
The centre was inaugurated in September 2017 with its capability on A330s.