The new Airbus plant in Mobile has two runways (Airbus)
Airbus inaugurated on Monday (14) its first factory in the United States in the city of Mobile, Alabama. The European manufacturer has invested $ 600 million in the unit in order to approach the US market, which is dominated by local company and its main competitor, Boeing.
The new plant in Alabama is the second outside Europe - the first is in Tianjin, China. According to company statement, the US plant will be the main place of assembly of the A321neo, the largest single-aisle Airbus aircraft.The A319 and A320 models, in more recent versions, will also be produced in American assembly line.
The factory in the US, however, has not yet begun to operate at full strength, which should happen only in 2018. From this year, Airbus plans to produce between 40 and 50 aircraft per year. The first jets the company "Made in USA" will be delivered in the second half of 2016.
There are few North American companies using Airbus aircraft.With Boeing's advantage of not having to pay customs duties and operation of facilities with hundreds of service points and spare parts in the United States. The new plant, however, could change this course, starting with the mid-size aircraft.
In the US, some of the companies that have Airbus aircraft in their fleets are American Airlines, JetBlue, Virgin America and Hawaiian Airlines. Still, some of these companies also have aircraft from Boeing in inventory.
The city of Mobile, as explained Airbus, was chosen to house the new plant due to its geographical position, with an outlet to the Atlantic Ocean and close to the Panama Canal, and also for being the city that offered more incentives for plant installation and pledged to invest an additional $ 158 million in infrastructure works.
