Airbus’ China plans include an aircraft ‘life cycle’ service centre spanning nearly 100 football pitches
- While rival Boeing remains caught up in the US-China trade war, Airbus is looking to make further inroads in China, where the phasing out of aircraft will ‘grow exponentially’
- With an initial investment of at least 6 billion yuan (US$945 million), the massive facility should be completed by the third quarter of 2023
Airbus plans to establish a sprawling service centre in China as the Toulose-based aerospace manufacturer looks to secure a larger share of the fast-growing aviation market while trade tensions between Beijing and Washington continue to affect sales of rival Boeing.
Dubbed a “life cycle” service centre for aircraft, the 690,000-square-metre facility will be roughly the size of 100 football pitches.
Airbus and Tarmac Aerosave have signed a memorandum of understanding with the city of Chengdu, the capital of southwestern Sichuan province, to develop the centre. It will cover parking, storage, maintenance, upgrades, conversions, dismantling and recycling services for various types of planes, according to a statement by Airbus on Tuesday.
Tarmac Aerosave is jointly owned by Airbus, French defence company Safran and utility company Suez.
Klaus Roewe, Airbus’ senior vice-president in charge of customer services, said in the statement that the phasing out of aircraft in China is forecast to “grow exponentially over the next 20 years”, and that the service centre – the company’s first in China and outside of Europe – will see Airbus “well positioned on the Chinese aircraft second-life services market”.