Barry Eccleston, the CEO of Airbus North America, offered his congratulations to the Mobile team at the First Flight post-flight ceremony.
He said:
In 2012 we announced our intent to make A320 aircraft in Mobile, Alabama. In 2013, we broke ground on this facility. And last year we officially inaugurated operations here.
Time has flown (no pun intended), but let’s pause a minute to realize what has happened with the flight of this aircraft today: in less than 3 years Airbus fulfilled a promise we made to the city of Mobile, the state of Alabama, and the Gulf Coast region. We said we were going to build airplanes here—and we have and we are.
It has been my pleasure to watch this place grow from an idea to reality and now to have seen the first plane fly is just amazing. I hope all of you feel the same way.
Today is just the first of many aircraft to come for a variety of customers.
We’re only going to grow– which means Mobile, Alabama, and the US aerospace industry are going to grow. It’s been a great ride so far—but the best is yet to come.
Again, congratulations to everyone!
