Airbus has delivered the first aircraft produced at its newest A320 Family Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Toulouse: a A321neo to be operated by low-cost Turkish carrier Pegasus Airlines.
The latest in Airbus’ global network of final assembly sites (comprising of four FALs in Germany, two in France, two in the United States and two in China), the new production facility commenced operations at the end of 2022 with the delivery of the first fuselage sections and is housed in the former A380 Jean-Luc Lagardère assembly building. It was officially opened in July 2023 and “will contribute to the ongoing production rate ramp-up to 75 A320 Family aircraft per month in 2026, while meeting the increased demand for A321s which currently represents around 60 percent of the total A320 family backlog,” explained Airbus CEO Guillame Faury.
The first A231neo to be completed at the new FAL was delivered to Pegasus Airlines, augmenting the carrier’s current Airbus fleet to 93 aircraft (including six A320ceos, 26 A320neos and 41 A321neos). Pegasus Airlines has 68 A321neos on order.