Currently, there are 15 domestic suppliers providing materials, components and assembly services for the A220, including sealants and painting suppliers in Tianjin.

Currently, there are 15 domestic suppliers providing materials, components and assembly services for A220, including sealant and painting suppliers in Tianjin.

After just receiving a large order for 292 aircraft from three Chinese airlines at the beginning of this month, Airbus China held an online media briefing on the Airbus A220 aircraft yesterday to introduce the "new member" of Airbus narrow-body aircraft - the A220. The aircraft was introduced in detail and reiterated its confidence in long-term participation in the Chinese market.

"As of May this year, Airbus has more than 2,070 active aircraft operating in mainland China. In the past two years, we have witnessed the ups and downs of the Chinese aviation market under the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, and have also experienced the industry-wide efforts to recover and grow steadily. "In the long run, China is one of the most promising markets in the world. We are confident in the Chinese market and hope to participate in it for the long term," said Liu Li, Global Senior Vice President of Airbus and Head of Airbus China Civil Aircraft Business. stated at the briefing.

As the domestic resumption of work and production continues, the civil aviation industry recovers in an orderly manner. On the evening of July 1, three airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Air China , and China Southern Airlines respectively issued announcements and signed a purchase agreement with Airbus── A total of 292 aircraft were purchased, with a purchase amount of approximately US$32.757 billion, equivalent to more than 240 billion yuan, which attracted widespread attention in the industry. The announcement shows that Air China and its holding subsidiary Shenzhen Airlines purchased a total of 96 aircraft; China Eastern Airlines purchased 100 aircraft; China Southern Airlines purchased 96 aircraft. This is one of the largest orders in the history of Airbus and the first large-scale order "thrown out" by China's civil aviation industry in the past three years.

As a supplier, Airbus immediately confirmed the order news on its official website, saying that the order "demonstrates the positive recovery momentum and prosperous prospects of China's aviation market" and "customers' strong confidence and firmness in Airbus." Recognized”.

It is understood that the orders placed by the three airlines this time are all Airbus narrow-body A320NEO series. Since the COVID-19 epidemic, due to the sharp decline in air travel demand, the utilization rate of narrow-body aircraft has been significantly higher than that of wide-body aircraft, becoming the "darling" of the market. At the briefing meeting, Airbus introduced in detail its new generation of narrow-body aircraft - the A220, which is smaller than the A320 series. This model is positioned as a small single-aisle aircraft with 100 to 150 seats.

Over the years, Airbus’s presence in China has been rapidly expanding. The Airbus Tianjin final assembly line is China's first Airbus aircraft final assembly line and the first Airbus aircraft final assembly line outside Europe. In Tianjin, there is also an Airbus aircraft delivery center.

Against the background of the global epidemic, Airbus’s performance in the Chinese market has remained solid. As of the end of last year, the Airbus Tianjin assembly line had completed assembly and delivered 555 A320 series aircraft.

Based on the popular A320 and A330, Airbus hopes to bring the latest narrow-body aircraft A220 to the domestic market. "The Airbus A220 aircraft is very suitable for the Chinese market in terms of market fit and ride experience. It is also an aircraft full of Chinese elements." Wang Zhe, marketing director of Airbus China Marketing Department, is optimistic about the sales of this model in the Chinese market prospect.

The Airbus A220 aircraft is the only civil aircraft that Airbus has not reduced its production rate during the epidemic prevention and control period. Yang Xiaoyu, Airbus China Flight Procurement Director, said that he hopes to achieve cost reduction and carbon dioxide emission reduction through supply chain localization. "The A220 series aircraft final assembly lines are located in Mirabel, Canada and Mobile, the United States. Currently, there are 15 domestic suppliers providing materials, components and assembly services for the A220, including sealant and painting suppliers in Tianjin. According to plan, By 2025, Airbus will increase the monthly production of A220 to 14 aircraft. To this end, it needs to conduct a comprehensive production capacity assessment and develop a production ramp-up plan, which is already in progress," Yang Xiaoyu said. (Reporter Chen Fan)