This story was originally Cast WIRED Italy Translated from Italian.
This is the most important moment in an aircraft’s life – the moment when the new owner signs and takes possession of the aircraft, much like a driver receiving a new car from the dealer.
The plane in question, an Airbus A321neo, was parked at Hamburg-Finkenwerder, Germany’s second-largest airport, which Airbus uses for testing, logistics and customer aircraft deliveries. Gathered around the plane were pilots, cabin crew and two executives from Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air, which is about to take delivery of the plane.
Airlines and manufacturers never disclose how much they pay for individual planes, in part because the price depends on many factors, including the number of planes purchased and each airline’s operating performance, but buying planes isn’t cheap: The base price of a single Airbus A321neo is estimated to be around $110 million.
The plane, registered by Wizz Air as H9-WNM, was built in just over a year at Airbus’ Hamburg factory, one of the company’s four production centers — the others are in Toulouse, France; Mobile, Alabama; and Tianjin, China. These giant factories, known as final assembly lines (FALs), assemble all of the plane’s structural parts, onboard electronics, hydraulic and mechanical components, and other parts.
Final armament process for an Airbus A320neo in Hamburg.Photo: Antonio Dini
But before these parts can get to FAL, they need to be manufactured. Some are made in-house at Airbus, others by third parties. Together, they’re made in dozens of factories and centers around the world. And putting them all together presents a massive logistical challenge. This complex ballet involves transporting them by ship, train, road and air, as well as transporting them all by air. Beluga— plays a key role. With their enormous girth, similar to that of a beluga whale, these planes were built by Airbus to move large parts such as fuselages from one production site to another.
