Airbus has delivered the first A350 aircraft from its widebody completion and delivery centre in China’s Tianjin.

The A350-900 aircraft was delivered to China Eastern Airlines, which is the largest Airbus operator in Asia and second largest in the world. The airline’s fleet of 413 Airbus aircraft includes 349 A320 Family, 55 A330 Family and nine A350s.

The A350 features a carbon-fibre fuselage and wings, as well as new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce engines. These features allow it to have a 25 per cent reduction in fuel burn and CO2 emissions, and the cabin is the “quietest of any widebody aircraft” according to the manufacturer.

George Xu, Airbus Executive Vice President and Airbus China CEO, commented:

“I’m proud that Airbus successfully extended the capability of the widebody C&DC in Tianjin to the A350, the latest new generation aircraft, at such a difficult time of global aviation.

“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.”

The facility, which was set up in 2017 with its capability on A330s, is located at the same site as the A320 family final assembly line and the delivery centre. It carries out work including cabin installation, aircraft painting, production flight test, customer flight acceptance and aircraft delivery.

The company stated that the A350 Family had received 915 firm orders from 49 customers worldwide by the end of last month, and stated that this makes it “one of the most successful widebody aircraft ever”.

airbus.com