Airbus plans A320 production increase

European airplane maker Airbus said it will raise production of its single-aisle A320 Family airliners to 60 airplanes a month beginning in mid-2019.

It is currently producing 42 a month.

The company said it made the decision after completing studies on production ramp-up readiness in the supply chain as well as Airbus sites. Spirit AeroSystems is among those companies in the A320 supply chain, through the manufacture of parts of the airplane’s wings.

Airbus said will create another production line at its Hamburg, Germany facilities to accommodate the rate increase.

Single-aisle airliners are the best-selling category of aircraft for Airbus and its rival Boeing, which manufactures the 737.

Airbus said it has had more than 12,200 orders and 6,700 deliveries for A320 Family aircraft since inception.

The A320 Family includes four sizes of single-aisle airliners: A318, A319, A320 and A321.

This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 9:40 AM with the headline "Airbus plans A320 production increase."