A320 production to grow to 42 aircraft a month by end of next year, Airbus officials say

Posted by John McHale
BLAGNAC, France 23 May 2011. Officials at Airbus say that the airframe manufacturer is planning to increase the A320 aircraft family production rate to 42 aircraft per month at the end of next year.
At this time the company manufactures 36 A320 jets each month, which will incrementally grow to 38 later this summer and grow to 40 at the beginning of next year. Airbus produces 8.5 A330 aircraft per month, increasing to nine next year and 10 in 2013.
Total aircraft deliveries for Airbus last year were 510, including 401 A320 jets.
Airbus officials also added a new engine option called neo for the A320 line. This engine option will have more than 95 percent airframe commonality with the existing models making it an easy fit into existing fleets while offering as much as 500 nautical miles more range or two tons more payload.
The A320 line includes the A318, A319, A320, and A321 jets. Every model shares a cockpit and use fly-by-wire controls.