Airbus
has begun assembling an A321XLR at the Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Toulouse, France, utilizing the production site where it had previously built the Airbus A380.
Assembling A321XLRs in France
According to a report by the Toulouse, France-based La Dépêche, Airbus has already begun assembling the Jean-Luc Lagardère facility’s first-ever A321XLR
, which will be delivered to 
Iberia
.
The process began in December 2024, and eventually, the aircraft’s cabin will be furnished, and the engines will be installed on the airframe. Iberia’s A321XLRs are powered by two CFM International LEAP-1As
.
Photo: Iberia
Ch-aviation data showed that Iberia’s second A321XLR, with the Spanish airline taking delivery of its first aircraft of the type in October 2024, was assigned the manufacturer serial number (MSN) 11686. However, the site showed that MSN 11686 is being assembled in Hamburg, Germany, estimating that Airbus will deliver the aircraft in March.
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Delivering the first Toulouse-assembled A321neo
In December 2023, Airbus announced that its A320neo
FAL in Toulouse, France, completed its first A321neo. Pegasus Airlines
welcomed and shipped the aircraft, registered as TC-RDK, to its hub at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW) on December 28, 2023, with the aircraft entering service on January 2, 2024.
Ch-aviation data also showed that since the delivery to Pegasus Airlines, Airbus has delivered another 33 A321neos to various airlines worldwide from the ex-A380 FAL, including six deliveries to HK Express, two to IndiGo
, four to Korean Air
, ten to Pegasus Airlines (excludes TC-RDK), and five to 
United Airlines
.
Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock
In comparison, between December 1, 2023, and January 31, Airbus delivered 294 A321neos
from Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport (XFW) in Germany and 54 from Mobile International Airport (BFM) in Alabama.
Another 77 were assembled and delivered to customers at Tianjin Binhai International Airport (TSN), China, where the plane maker has another A320neo family aircraft FAL, as well as a widebody completion and delivery center (C&DC).
Related
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The carrier has expanded its fleet.
Converting the ex-A380 site
In January 2020, Airbus announced the decision to convert the Lagardère facility, which was the home of the FAL of the A380
, to produce the A321neo aircraft family, including its derivatives like the A321LR and A321XLR. Airbus ended the production of the A380 in December 2021, when the company delivered the last-ever double-decker to Emirates.
At the time, the European plane maker said that the facility would accommodate a “digitally-enabled” A321neo assembly line to modernize the A320 production system in Toulouse, France.
“The new facilities will provide more flexibility for A321 production, while keeping the overall single-aisle industrial capacity in Toulouse flat.”
Photo: Skycolors | Shutterstock
Michael Schoellhorn, the former chief operating officer (COO) of Airbus, who now heads Airbus Defence and Space, explained that since the company was enjoying unprecedented demand for its A320neo family, especially the A321neo and its derivatives, to optimize its industrial flow, it decided to increase its global A321neo production capacity.
Airbus’ delivery filings showed that as of December 31, 2024, the A320neo family aircraft had 10,969 gross orders, split between 57 for the A319neo
, 4,083 for the A320neo
, and 6,829 for the A321neo (including A321LR and A321XLR).
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