Airbus increases production rate for A320 family

Airbus's Hamburg A320 Family final assembly line. (Andrew McLaughlin)

Airbus has announced that it will increase the production rate of its single-aisle A320 family from 38 to 42 aircraft per month by the fourth quarter of 2012, claiming a solid order backlog for the decision.

“With a backlog of over 2300 A320 Family aircraft to deliver, we need to increase production to accommodate continuing strong customer demand for these new eco-efficient aircraft,” Airbus executive vice president Programmes, Tom Williams explained.

Airbus delivered a total of 401 A320 Family variants in 2010, with the manufacturer planning to initially lift its production rate from 36 to 38 aircraft by August 2011, followed by 40 in the first quarter of 2012 before hitting 42 jets by Q4.

Meanwhile, the production rate of Airbus’ larger A330 family of aircraft is also expected to increase from a current rate of 8.5 per month to 10 aircraft by the second quarter of 2013.