A320 Will Be Flown By Sichuan Airlines

The first A320 assembled in China will be delivered to its new home this week. The customer is Dragon Aviation Leasing, which will manage the plane  for Sichuan Airlines.

The A320 was flight tested last month with the first Chinese flight engineer trained by Airbus.

Airbus expects to deliver 10 of the mid-range airliners this year, before the factory, which is patterned after the Airbus factory in Hamburg, Germany, begins to crank out four airplanes a month by the end of 2011. Airbus owns 51 percent of the facility, while a Chinese consortium holds the remaining 49 percent.

Airbus is aggressively pursuing the Chinese market. According to the Economic Times, the company has a goal of increasing their market share in China to 50 percent in the next three years. They currently hold about 39 percent. Passenger travel in China is expected to increase five-fold in the next 20 years.

At last weeks Paris Air Show, China Eastern Airlines ordered 20 A320's between 2011 and 2013. It's part of a 160 jet deal made in 2007. China has overall orders of 280 planes from Airbus.

It has not been revealed who will be attending Tuesday's delivery ceremony, but no minister-level officials from either France of Germany are expected to attend.

FMI: www.airbus.com