The recent Paris Air Show is already paying off in a big way for Alabama jobs, with Mobile’s Airbus manufacturing facility even being called the worldwide “big winner.”
In the latest purchase order for Airbus stemming directly from negotiations conducted during the show in late June, flyadeal on Sunday announced that it has finalized an agreement for 30 A320 NEO aircraft, with the options for an additional 20.
The A320 NEO, a family passenger jet, is assembled at Airbus’ south Alabama location.
Deliveries of the aircraft to flyadeal will commence in 2021. This order will result in the airliner operating an all-A320 fleet in the future.
Flyadeal is the discounted travel subsidiary of Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation (SAUDIA).
The Wall Street Journal reported that the total order including options has a value of over $5.5 billion, based on Airbus list prices that do not include industry-standard discounts.
Several national outlets are pointing to this as the first concrete example of companies turning away from Boeing’s 737 MAX in the wake of that aircraft’s well-publicized troubles.
This could become a trend, which would mean huge new business for Airbus in Mobile, as well as supply chain and indirect beneficiaries in the Yellowhammer State.
It is estimated that Mobile will soon be the fourth biggest aerospace manufacturing city in the world.
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Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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