A partnership between Airbus and Canadian planemaker Bombardier has officially cleared its final hurdles, setting the stage for a second aircraft final assembly line at Airbus’s Mobile campus and hundreds of new manufacturing jobs for the region. Airbus confirmed the agreement would take effect July 1, ending months of uncertainty over the deal’s fate amid friction between U.S. and Canadian trade officials.
“This is our industrial home,” Mobile plant manager Daryl Taylor told reporters and employees gathered for a media event at the Brookley Aeroplex campus. “It means there will be a new facility.”
The agreement allows Airbus to build Bombardier’s CSeries jetliners alongside its existing A320 family production in Mobile, adding a second final assembly line to the site that opened in 2015. Taylor said the new line is expected to employ roughly 400 workers once it is up and running, mirroring the job count generated when the original Mobile plant opened.
The deal had been held up for months by a trade dispute between Bombardier and Boeing, the American aerospace giant that accused the Canadian manufacturer of dumping subsidized CSeries jets into the U.S. market at unfairly low prices. The U.S. International Trade Commission ultimately sided with Bombardier, rejecting Boeing’s complaint and blocking the U.S. Commerce Department from imposing steep punitive tariffs on the aircraft. Boeing opted not to appeal the ruling earlier this year, clearing the way for the partnership to move forward.
Under revised terms tied to the deal’s early closing, Bombardier will cover any cash shortfalls tied to the CSeries program moving forward, up to $225 million during the second half of 2018, up to $350 million in 2019, and up to a combined $350 million over the two years after that.
Local economic development leaders said the expanded footprint builds on years of momentum for the region’s aerospace sector. “Additional capacity has always been a goal of our economic development team,” said David Rodgers, vice president of economic development for the Mobile Area Chamber. “Since the initial Airbus [final assembly line] opened in 2015, more than 20 aerospace companies have located to Mobile. We’re looking forward to continuing to see additional investment here as we work to grow our aerospace cluster.”
For Airbus, folding the CSeries into its lineup rounds out its offerings in the single-aisle aircraft market, where the A320 family already competes heavily. “Clearly we see it as a strategic alignment,” Taylor said. “It’s a great addition.”
Bombardier delivered 17 CSeries aircraft in 2017 and expects to more than double that number in 2018 as production ramps up. Airbus and Bombardier project the jet, prized for its fuel efficiency and range, could capture a sizable share of an estimated 6,000 aircraft needed globally in its market segment over the next two decades. Company officials say a dedicated second CSeries line in Mobile is intended to serve that growing demand from U.S.-based airline customers.
“This partnership extends our commitment to Quebec and to all of Canadian aerospace, and we are very glad to welcome so many CSeries teammates into the extended Team Airbus,” Airbus CEO Tom Enders said in a statement announcing the finalized deal. “The strength of the entire Airbus organization will be behind the CSeries. Not only will that enable this outstanding aircraft to fulfill its market potential, but we are convinced the addition of the CSeries to our overall aircraft product offering brings significant value to Airbus, our customers and shareholders.”
The announcement capped a milestone week for the Mobile plant, which also marked its first-ever aircraft delivery to Hawaiian Airlines. Airbus workers gathered to send off an A321neo, the newest addition to Hawaiian’s fleet, in a ceremony that marked three firsts for the Mobile facility: its first delivery to the Hawaii-based carrier, its first completed “neo,” or new engine option, aircraft, and the first A321 built in Mobile powered by a Pratt & Whitney engine.
Jon Snook, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Hawaiian Airlines, said the neo aircraft have outperformed the airline’s older jets on both range and fuel efficiency. With three neo aircraft already in its fleet, Snook said Hawaiian has been able to add routes along the West Coast, and he welcomed the addition of Mobile-built aircraft to that expansion. “It’s great that we get to be a part of the industrial future of the city,” he said.
The new jet will join Hawaiian’s fleet under the name Wiliwili, honoring a tree native to the Hawaiian Islands that was historically used to craft the islands’ first surfboards. “All of our aircraft are named for Hawaii’s flora and fauna,” Snook said.
Taylor said the delivery marks the first of many neo aircraft to come out of Mobile, even as the plant continues building the original engine option models. He said demand for the newer, more fuel-efficient variant is expected to keep growing as airlines look to cut emissions and extend range.