Forecasting A Rate Of 40 Per Month By 2012

Airbus says it plans to increase the monthly production rate of its A320-family aircraft to 38 per month in August 2011 and to 40 per month in first quarter 2012. Currently Airbus turns out 34 A320-family aircraft per month rising to 36 from December 2010.

A320 Production Line

Airbus’ says its decision to raise its single-aisle production rate is driven by the continuing strong demand for its single-aisle aircraft (as recently underlined by the Farnborough Airshow with 206 new single aisle commitments) and a record backlog in excess of more than 2,200 A320-family aircraft. “The recent Farnborough International Airshow, where Airbus garnered orders worth 28 billion US dollars in total and the leasing companies made a strong return to the market, was clear evidence of a strong and positive trend towards recovery,” said Tom Williams, Executive Vice President Programs.  “The low operating costs and high dispatch reliability offered by the A320 Family make it the market best seller. Increased demand for the aircraft and a healthy backlog lead us to decide to further ramp up our production rate to 40 aircraft per month by 2012.”

Airbus delivered a total of 498 aircraft in 2009, including 402 A320 Family aircraft, both new company records for a single year. The company has delivered already 250 aircraft by end of June and says it is well on track to set another delivery record in 2010.

FMI: www.airbus.com