Airbus adds A321neo wing capacity at Broughton plant

Airbus is adding a new line at its UK wing plant in Broughton to expand its capacity to build A321neo wings. The manufacturer is converting the site's former A380 wing facility, known as the west factory, for single-aisle wing work.

Six jigs will be installed. The first two, handling upper and lower wing sections, are already online, and work has begun on the initial wing. Airbus said it intends to have the remaining four jigs running by the end of the year. The conversion is backed by a £150 million, about $170 million, investment and will also include an equipping line and a paint shop. Around 250 positions will be created in the refurbished facility, more than half of a planned 480 roles at Broughton this year.

A321neo wings are going through a convergence programme under which the wing design for the longer-range A321XLR becomes standard across A321neo variants. The XLR wing uses a single-slotted inboard flap instead of the double-slotted flap on other A321neo models.

Airbus said the new facility will initially focus on the current A321neo wing, while XLR wings will for now be produced in the existing east single-aisle wing factory. It added that the west facility's industrial system can handle XLR work with minimal changes.

The added capacity supports Airbus's aim of reaching a monthly build rate of 75 A320neo-family aircraft. Jerome Blandin, who heads wing work at Airbus, said the company is not only talking about a ramp-up but putting the infrastructure in place to support it.

The emphasis on A321neo wings reflects how large a share the variant holds in the single-aisle backlog. Airbus had almost 5,700 A321neos outstanding at the end of August, equal to 75% of the A320neo-family total.