Airbus China Plans First A330 Delivery In 2018

Airbus's China plant is expected to deliver its first A330 in 2018, one of the European plane maker's Chinese partners said.

Airbus earlier this month signed an agreement to establish an A330 cabin completion facility in the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin, where the firm already has a final assembly plant for A320s.

The agreement was signed with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China and the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone. Airbus hopes the increased presence in China will lead to more demand for the A330.

In a statement posted on its website, the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone, said it expects construction of the plant to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2017, with the first plane to be delivered to customers in early 2018.

The plant will help further China's goal of building its own jets to cater to what is expected to become the world's biggest air transport market. Currently it depends mostly on imported jets from Airbus and Boeing.

Facilities for cabin completion, painting, and flight testing of the A330 series would also be established in the next 10 years, the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone said.

The agreement to build the A330 plant, which will be capable of fitting out 2 planes a month, came after China placed an order for 45 A330s, together with provisional purchases of another 30 planes.