Summary Airbus recently celebrated its 500th aircraft made in Mobile, Alabama, marking significant growth in the past nine years. The manufacturer has invested in local talent and apprenticeship programs, with workforce increasing from 350 to nearly 2,000. Delta Air Lines received the milestone 500th aircraft, with plans for a new assembly line in Mobile to further increase production capacity.
Airbus has celebrated the delivery of the 500th aircraft manufactured at its f actory in Mobile, Alabama . It was only fitting that the aircraft go to an American airline, Delta Air Lines. 500 in nine years Airbus opened its first commercial aircraft manufacturing facility in the US in 2015 in Mobile, Alabama.
At the time, the site was only set up for manufacturing the A3320 family, but in 2017, Airbus expanded the facilities' capability and included the A220. In the first five years, more than 180 A320 family aircraft were delivered to eight customers. And by September 2020, the first American-manufactured A220 was in its final stages of production .
Earlier this week, Airbus celebrated aircraft #500 in Alabama, an A321neo delivered to Delta Air Lines. The manufacturer gathered several staff to celebrate the occasion and take a photo with the new plane. On social media, Airbus said, "Our 500th Alabama-born baby! Team airbus in Mobile today celebrated the 500th aircraft produced at our U.
S. Manufacturing Facility - a bright and shiny Delta A321neo! Congrats to every Team Airbus member responsible for this stellar milestone!" According to a report from FOX10 , in the past nine years, Airbus' workforce in Mobile has grown from 350 people to nearly 2,000. In Mobile, Airbus has been adamant about investing in local talent, partnering with a program to prepare people for manufacturing jobs.
Bishop State and Flight Works Alabama have a pre-employment training program to train early career and high schoolers for those manufacturing jobs. This is one example of a multi-million dollar agreement that Airbus signed with the county commission and city council to encourage local hired. Daryl Taylor, General Manager of the facility in Mobile said that the manufacturer has seen great success in creating strategies and an apprenticeship program.
In the last two years, Airbus has had more than 200 apprentices. Since Delta received its first US-built A321 in 2016, the airline has added more than 130 planes from the Mobile site. This includes a large number of A321neos and A220s.
Kristen Bojko, Delta's Vice President for Fleet, said, "Delta has been part of many milestones at Airbus in Mobile, including delivery of the site's 15th and 100th produced A320 family aircraft and the first US-built aircraft." During the event held in celebration of the 500th plane, Mobile's Mayor was present. Mayor Sandy Stimpson highlighted that nine years ago, not one plane had been built in Mobile, and how significant it was to have grown so much in that period.
New assembly line Airbus is currently building a third final assembly line (FAL) in Mobile, for the A320 family. The new addition is expected to be completed in Q2 2025 and will likely have its first plane delivered later in the year. Also by next year, another 500 staff members will be added.
By the time all the work is finished, the Mobile site will total more than three million square feet. Because of the expansion, Taylor is certain that the next 500 aircraft will be produced in a shorter timeframe. But today, Airbus is limited because of supply chain constraints and was forced to reduce its delivery outlook earlier this year.
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