Xian Aircraft Company delivers first A319 China-made wing box

The first Airbus A319 wing box made in China was delivered today to Airbus by Xian Aircraft Company (XAC), a subsidiary of China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I). The wing box will be dispatched to the Airbus site at Broughton in the UK for equipping with systems and further work.

With a dimension of 16.67m x 4.2m x 1.0m and a weight of 3,500 kg per wing, the wing box is the largest Airbus aircraft component ever produced by a Chinese aviation manufacturer. It highlights the high level of Airbus commitment to its programme of industrial cooperation with the Chinese aviation industry.

This delivery marks a significant milestone in the A320 family aircraft wing co-operation programme between Airbus and China. Xian Aircraft Company is scheduled to ramp up the production of the wing box to four shipsets a month by the end of 2009. With the continuing strong demand for the A320 family aircraft, XAC represents additional capacity to Airbus wing production in Broughton, UK.

Airbus has a long history of co-operation with the Chinese aviation industry. In addition to manufacturing, the Airbus (Beijing) Engineering Centre was inaugurated in July 2005 and today houses more than 100 engineers. Airbus has proposed up to five per cent of the A350XWB outsourced airframe work to the Chinese Aviation Industry and a new A320 Family Final Assembly Line is planned in Tianjin.