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First China-assembled A320 test flight successful

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Click link for pics:

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90783/91300/6660399.html

 

First China-assembled A320 test flight successful

 

An Airbus A320 plane takes off from Binhai International Airport during a test flight in Tianjin, north China, May 18, 2009. The plane is the first assembled at the Tianjin Airbus A320 assembly factory. It underwent a test flight of four hours and 10 minutes on Monday. (Xinhua/Liu Haifeng)

 

After four hours' flight, the first China-assembled Airbus A320 aircraft landed smoothly at Tianjin Binhai International Airport at 2:56 p.m. Monday, a symbol of successful test flight.

 

The aircraft will be delivered to Dragon Aviation Leasing in June from the Airbus Delivery Center in Tianjin and will be operated by Sichuan Airlines.

 

"I am confident that the plane will be delivered to Sichuan Airlines by the end of June as scheduled," said Jean Luc Charles, General Manager of the Airbus (Tianjin) Final Assembly Line Co. Ltd (FALC), after the test flight.

 

He also said that this A320 assembled in China unquestionably demonstrated the same quality and performance as those assembled and delivered in Hamburg or Toulouse.

 

The A320 FALC, which started to work in August 2008, is a joint-venture between Airbus and a Chinese consortium comprising Tianjin Free Trade Zone and China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC).

 

Airbus China holds 51 percent of the stakes, while the Chinese Consortium holds 49 percent.

 

The Tianjin assembly line, the third on top of two in Toulouse and Hamburg, is to deliver two types of aircraft of the A320 family -- A319 and A320. The A320 family, which includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321, is recognized as the benchmark single-aisle aircraft family.

 

An Airbus A320 plane lands at Binhai International Airport after a test flight in Tianjin, north China, May 18, 2009. (Xinhua/Liu Haifeng)

 

"China has become more involved in the world's aviation industry," said Professor Li Yanhua from the Civil Aviation University of China, citing that the huge market potential has lured world's aircraft giants as Boeing and Airbus.

 

The Tianjin-based assembly company is expected to deliver a total of 11 A320 aircraft this year. Starting from 2011, the company will be able to produce 48 A320 planes every year, according to Jean Luc Charles.

 

"With the final assembly line here in Tianjin, we deepen and expand our industrial relationship, which is a key pillar of the internationalization strategy of Airbus," said Jean.

 

According to a report by the Tianjin Airport-based Industrial Zone, China has become the world's second largest aviation market after the United States. The country is estimated to need 2,670 passenger planes in the next 20 years.

 

The Airbus company estimated in last February that the Chinese mainland would need more than 3,000 aircraft between 2006 and 2025, including 180 super jumbo passenger planes.

 

In addition to the Tianjin assembly line, Airbus purchased 70 million U.S. dollars worth of high quality components and materials from Chinese companies in 2007 alone.

 

Boeing and Airbus currently dominate the world's large airplane market, and only manufacturers in the U.S., Europe and Russia own the technologies to build such planes.

 

China, however, is actively developing such technologies. The country set up its first ever jumbo passenger aircraft company in Shanghai in May, 2008, taking a major step forward in its large jet program.

 

Analysts believe that China would play a bigger role in the world's aviation industry with the Tianjin line in operation, as final assembly lines stand for a core competitiveness of aviation manufacturers.

 

"China is an important -- and increasingly important -- part of the global aviation family," Jean said.

 

 

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Made in China :yahoo:

If I am not wrong, the parts were made in the European Union, but the birds are assembled in China.

 

Much like the concept of Completely Knocked Down (CKD) kits for car? ie. Cars' component were made in Japan and then assembled in a foreign country?

 

More like "Made in Europe, Assembled in China", IMO. :pardon:

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I'm worried .... made in CHINA.... can or not???!!! In the long run.. I am very worried about the safety.. the quality....!!! the list can go on!1

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I'm worried .... made in CHINA.... can or not???!!! In the long run.. I am very worried about the safety.. the quality....!!! the list can go on!1

 

Actually Chinese can produce good quality products. It depends on buyers budget. I wonder if they will have "天津空中巴士" sticker instead of Airbus. :p

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I'm worried .... made in CHINA.... can or not???!!! In the long run.. I am very worried about the safety.. the quality....!!! the list can go on!1

 

 

The Chinese have built rockets and sent people into space so assembling an aircraft shouldn't be too much of a problem, methinks.

 

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But China was also responsible for the tainted milk and Mattel toy disasters. It goes without saying that proper QA must be in place, if one is to get good quality products (from anywhere in the world). Where a product is made in is not terribly important. The quality of workmanship is...

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The Chinese has assembled MD-90s before so assembling A320 is a no-brainer.

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China's reputation has not been a good one, but most IMO is the case of u pay peanuts, u get monkeys........... so i think there won't be a problem when u don't pay peanut. of course with strict QC . :D

 

 

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China is now a advanced country with lots of high-ends technology..They are successful in building Spaceship,Three Gorges Dam ,Yangshan deep-water port,Olympic Bird Nest Stadium etcc.. So,I strongly believe that China assemble's aircraft is safe to be used :drinks:

Edited by Li Ren

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The Chinese has assembled MD-90s before so assembling A320 is a no-brainer.

 

Agreed with Capt.Radzi.If they had experienced the assembly of MD-90,so A320 is not a problem for them.

 

From the photo shown at the link,looks like Sichuan Airlines is the 1st operator of China-assembled A320.

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I'm worried .... made in CHINA.... can or not???!!! In the long run.. I am very worried about the safety.. the quality....!!! the list can go on!1

 

 

But China was also responsible for the tainted milk and Mattel toy disasters. It goes without saying that proper QA must be in place, if one is to get good quality products (from anywhere in the world). Where a product is made in is not terribly important. The quality of workmanship is...

 

if quality is an issue, Airbus won't have open up an assembly plant in China in the first place. for assembly work, there's definitely employee of Airbus Europe supervising the work and definitely there'll be strict guideline and SOP that have to be adhere to. a lot is at stake for Airbus here, just imagine those birds assemble in China drop off from the sky one by one, what will it do to Airbus reputation?

Edited by Victor A.

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Somewhere along the line it could be very possible that AK's busses would come from China .

 

It only makes sense I assume ..

 

Such a long distance ferry flight is not necessary if the factory is only in China .

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A320s are built with standrd guidelines and its should be safe before any commercial flight....China is only used as an assemble point and the technology is still from AIRBUS itself...as far as this ic soncern i dont see any safety issue with this planes.

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any chance of ak having these A320 ? looking for excuse to spot ak babybus :p

If I remember correctly, Airbus Tianjin currently has a production rate of 4 aircraft per month. Initially all production has been earmarked for Chinese airlines. I am sure that when Airbus increase the production rate, non-Chinese orders may be fulfilled from this assembly plant.

 

 

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On the other hand the Airbuses and Boeings that we saw on "Air Crash Investigations" are mostly assembled either in Europe or Seattle. :p

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The Chinese has assembled MD-90s before so assembling A320 is a no-brainer.

If I am not wrong, some of the MD-90s which was assembled in China (by AVIC-I or AVIC-II) made their way to some US Airlines. Some were sold to other airlines when the MD-90s were retired by Chinese Airlines.

 

I think the concern of the quality is unfounded because Airbus' certainly won't want to see poor quality planes made under their own brand, whether they were built in Europe or not. The Chinese are only assembling the A320, I believe they did not produce the material.......

 

If I remember correctly, Airbus Tianjin currently has a production rate of 4 aircraft per month. Initially all production has been earmarked for Chinese airlines. I am sure that when Airbus increase the production rate, non-Chinese orders may be fulfilled from this assembly plant.

In the 1990s, there were plans by Airbus to eventually produce smaller variation of the A320s in China. I think it was named as AE318, AE319 and etc. The plans were shelved due to the Asian Economic Crisis.

Edited by S V Choong

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I'm worried .... made in CHINA.... can or not???!!! In the long run.. I am very worried about the safety.. the quality....!!! the list can go on!1

 

With strict supervision and QC it should not be a problem. Everthing can be made or assemble in China. Anyway the parts are still not from China.

 

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More like "Made in Europe, Assembled in China", IMO. :pardon:

Expect to find this printed on the plaque near the cockpit :rofl:

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Expect to find this printed on the plaque near the cockpit :rofl:

Even if there is, there is no shame in putting in the statement on the plague. :drinks:

 

Well for those who are worried about quality and workmanship from a developing country, I hope you are not driving a Proton or Perodua. :)

Edited by S V Choong

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Would this mean that spare parts for airbus would be cheaper for the airliners in this region due to the availability of the airbus parts nearby?

Doubt if 'distance from source' is any major determinant of pricing when you're dealing with these high value items

Also believe that most of the components/consumables are not made in China anyway, considering the manner multi nationals source their materials

 

The danger (apparently lah :) ) in China is the possibility of additional production runs on top of the official ones, during midnight shifts :D

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