Airbus staff in Filton are celebrating the news that an Indonesian airline has placed a £326m order for 11 A330 aircraft.
The announcement was made by Prime Minister David Cameron as he arrived in Indonesia on the latest leg of his South East Asia trade mission.
Mr Cameron said:
“This deal between Airbus and Garuda Indonesian Airlines is good news for the UK aerospace industry.
“It will safeguard jobs at the design facility near Bristol and the manufacturing plant in Broughton in north Wales.”
“It is testament to the expertise of Airbus’s British workforce and a vote of confidence in Britain’s manufacturing base.”
The order is the third to be placed by Garuda Indonesia for the A330 since July 2010, with the carrier now having a total of 21 aircraft on firm order for future delivery. All the aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines.
Local MP Jack Lopresti MP commented:
“I am delighted at today’s news. Last year Airbus had a record year for orders and today’s announcement confirms that Airbus continues to go from strength to strength – it’s great news for the UK and great news for all those who work at the Airbus site in Filton.”
“This is the first time a UK Prime Minister has attended a signing ceremony for an Airbus aircraft deal and is a demonstration of the Government’s commitment to UK manufactured exports and firms like Airbus. It’s a very proud moment for Airbus and for our local area which contributes so much to the aviation industry.”
Garuda Indonesian has chosen the latest extended range 235 tonne maximum take-off weight variant of the A330-300. The carrier will operate the aircraft with a premium two class layout on services from its hubs in Jakarta and Denpasar (Bali) to destinations in Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific.
The twin engine A330 is one of the most widely used widebody aircraft in service today. Airbus has recorded nearly 1,200 orders for the various versions of the aircraft and more than 800 aircraft are flying with some 90 operators worldwide. In addition to passenger and freighter aircraft, the A330 is also available in VIP and military transport/tanker variants.
Airbus confirmed its commitment to the Filton site last month when it began construction of a new ‘Aerospace Park’ – a multi-million pound state-of-the-art engineering and technology campus scheduled for completion next year.
