The news that Airbus will build all its single-aisle aircraft (in Europe at least) under one roof is refreshing proof that it is going to stop the talk and start the action on some of the more difficult parts of its integration.
The original Airbus production plan devised in the late 1960s, with its single assembly line fed by completed subassemblies from partners and suppliers, was a revolutionary blueprint for how to build a modern airliner. The plan was certainly very influential in the procedure that Boeing eventually adopted three decades later with the 787.
But as Airbus's production expanded, the dreaded "workshare" always loomed in the background. Add to that the perception of "national pride" involved in what is a relatively minor part of the whole process - that of completing and rolling out shiny new jets - and some curious decisions have resulted.
For almost two decades Toulouse-built A320s have had to be ferried backwards and forwards between France and Germany for cabin installation, when the process is fully integrated with assembly for the aircraft produced in Hamburg. Any rational streamlining plan was put off amid fears of a French backlash.
Airbus has long talked about being "integrated". The Hamburg decision is an important step to becoming fully integrated by eradicating any remaining elements of a government "make-work scheme" .
Source: Flight International
