Airbus expects its second A320neo-family production line in Mobile will come online next month, marking further expansion of the strategically important US site and bringing the European manufacturer’s total number of aircraft assembly lines to 13.
Robin Hayes, chief executive of Airbus in North America, confirms the second Mobile A320neo line is on track to start operating in October. “We are very close,” he says. “We expect to commemorate the opening of the new line… next month.”
Airbus already has “some sections” of aircraft staged in the new line as part of its work to certify tooling and to otherwise prepare the line for full operation, he adds.
Airbus opened the Mobile site with a single A320neo production line ten years ago, supplementing its other A320neo assembly lines in Toulouse, Hamburg and Tianjin, China.
In 2020, Airbus opened a second line in Mobile, for assembly of A220s, adding to its other A220 production facility in Mirabel, Canada.
The Mobile site has proven a valuable asset for Airbus, giving it a major US manufacturing footprint and the political weight that such an operation imbibes.
Airbus and the broader aerospace industry scored a political win in July when the administration of US president Donald Trump and the European Union reached a trade deal that exempts aircraft and aircraft components from a 15% US import tariff.
Airbus aims to significant hike A320neo-family production in the coming years, with a goal of churning out 75 jets monthly in 2027. It intends to bring A220 production to 14 jets monthly in 2026.
Airbus has a way to go.
In 2025 through August, it delivered 333 A320neo-family jets (or 42 monthly on average) and 53 A220s (seven monthly), according to the company’s data. Deliveries do not exactly match production.
On 9 September, Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury said shortages of A320neo-family engines – particularly of CFM International Leap-1As – continue to constrain aircraft output.
