Airbus has officially opened a second final assembly line at its Mobile manufacturing campus, completing a 270,000-square-foot hangar at Brookley Aeroplex that will be dedicated to building the company’s smaller A220-100 and A220-300 jets.
Company officials announced the milestone Tuesday, capping an 18-month construction effort even as the coronavirus pandemic continued to disrupt air travel and squeeze airline finances worldwide. The new hangar houses five primary assembly stations and stands alongside the original Mobile facility that has been producing Airbus A320-family aircraft since 2015.
Airbus crews had already been assembling the first A220s in Mobile using existing space at Brookley since August 2019, but the completed hangar marks the first time the smaller jet program has had a purpose-built home in Alabama. The addition gives the Mobile campus two separate commercial aircraft product lines running side by side, a distinction few aircraft manufacturing sites in the country can claim.
Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson addressed the milestone during Tuesday’s Mobile City Council meeting, calling the completed facility “great news” for the city at a time when much of the local and national economy remained under strain from COVID-19.
Alongside the hangar’s completion, Airbus also welcomed the first components destined to become a U.S.-built A220 for JetBlue, which becomes the second airline customer to have its A220 aircraft assembled in Mobile. The New York-based budget carrier’s order adds momentum to a program that Airbus has been working to grow in the American market.
“The team is excited to start working in their new facility and to welcome a new customer. It’s a strong endorsement from JetBlue in this challenging time,” said Paul Gaskell, president of A220 USA, in a statement announcing the opening. “The expansion of our commercial aircraft production in Mobile to a second product line further solidifies Airbus’ standing as a truly global aircraft manufacturer, and confirms that Airbus is an important part of the American manufacturing landscape. This A220 assembly line will help satisfy the U.S. demand for the A220 aircraft.”
The A220 program, originally developed by Bombardier before Airbus took a majority stake in 2018, has positioned itself as a fuel-efficient option for airlines flying shorter routes with smaller passenger loads. Building the jets in Mobile allows Airbus to market them as American-made aircraft to U.S. carriers, a factor that has helped the company win domestic orders even as global travel demand cratered during the pandemic.
The Brookley campus has grown into one of Mobile’s largest employers since Airbus broke ground on its original Mobile assembly line in 2013, with the site now supporting hundreds of manufacturing and engineering jobs across both the A320 and A220 programs. Local and state officials have repeatedly pointed to the Airbus presence as a cornerstone of the region’s push to build a broader aerospace manufacturing sector along the Gulf Coast.
Company officials did not immediately say how many additional workers would be hired to staff the new A220 line, though the project has been expected to add jobs to the Mobile campus as production ramps up. The opening comes as Airbus, like most aircraft manufacturers, has had to balance long-term investment plans with short-term production slowdowns caused by the pandemic’s impact on airline travel.