Airbus to Increase Production of A320 Family Aircraft

Airbus has confirmed it will increase the production rate of its popular A320 Family of single-aisle aircraft to 42 aircraft per month in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Currently Airbus produces 36 A320 Family aircraft each month, a production rate that will steadily rise to 38 in August 2011 and to 40 in the first quarter of 2012.

The production rate for Airbus’ long-range A330 Family is 8.5 per month, which will increase to 9 in early 2012 and 10 in the second quarter of 2013.

“The low operating costs and high dispatch reliability offered by the A320 Family make it the best seller in its market,” said Tom Williams, Executive Vice President Programmes. “With a backlog of over 2,300 A320 Family aircraft to deliver, we need to increase production to accommodate continuing strong customer demand for these new eco-efficient aircraft.”

Airbus delivered a total of 510 aircraft in 2010, including 401 A320 Family aircraft. By the end of April 2011, Airbus had already delivered 132 A320 Family aircraft and is well on track to exceed previous years’ deliveries.

The A320 Family includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321.

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