Yang, Bregier talk benefits of A320 FAL

Minister Yang Yuanyuan of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and Fabrice Bregier, Airbus chief operating officer, met on May 15 at the VIP Lounge of Tianjin Airport after the ceremony was held on the A320 Family final assembly line in Tianjin. Yang said the A320 Family has gained orders from Chinese airlines because of its fine safety record. He said the A320 final assembly line in Tianjin marks the cooperation between China and Airbus on aviation. Tianjin Airport will benefit from the construction of the FAL. In the first four months of this year, passenger volume reached 1 million, higher by 41.9 percent compared to the same period in 2006. The A320 FAL is located southeast of the Tianjin Binhai International Airport. In June 2009, the first A320 assembled in China will take off from the airport. After the FAL is constructed, parts produced from other countries will be transported to Tianjin for final assembly. Along with the construction of the FAL, Tianjin Airport will expedite the construction of its second runway, which will serve the FAL operation and test flight. Tianjin will be the fourth city in the world--along with Seattle, Toulouse, and Hamburg--to have a final assembly line for large aircraft. Eleven aviation-related companies have decided to set up in the Tianjin aviation industry zone.