Opening a new transport route to China

This summer's arrival of the first aircraft sections at Airbus' new final assembly line in Tianjin, China marked the successful conclusion of almost two years of logistical planning and equipment design.

An Airbus team has been instrumental in working with the Chinese consortium to ensure that the best transport solutions are in place for these sections. Top-level requirements, such as the verification that components would never be disassembled from the jig during transport - as well as cost-effectiveness - were taken into account when decisions were made on the transportation process.

The relatively small size and weight of the sections make it possible to transport them in container liners. The team also developed special jigs and tools to avoid damage during the month-long transit, and worked with shipping carriers to test and validate the processes upstream.