Airbus delivered the first aircraft from its U.S. manufacturing facility in Mobile, Ala., on April 25. The assembly plant’s work force and Airbus senior management gathered to present the A321 narrow-body airliner to customer JetBlue.
The delivery ceremony came three years after Airbus broke ground on the $600 million plant—its first U.S.-based production facility—in April 2013. It officially opened the plant in September.
“Going from breaking ground on this facility three years ago to handing over the first Alabama-produced A321 today is an amazing accomplishment,” declared John Leahy, Airbus chief operating officer-customers. “It’s a testament to how well executed this project was,” he added.
JetBlue president and CEO Robin Hayes was among executives who attended the event, which followed the aircraft’s first flight on March 21.
There are currently nine other A320-series aircraft in production at the facility, Airbus said. The manufacturer expects to deliver four aircraft per month from the Mobile plant by the end of 2017.