MOBILE, AL—Airbus has begun construction of a new $300 million assembly plant here to manufacture the A220 jetliner. The project is expected to create 432 full-time jobs.

MOBILE, AL—Airbus has hired construction management firm HPM to plan, design and build a new assembly plant here to produce A220 aircraft. The new facility will be located adjacent to Airbus’ existing factory in Mobile.

Whenever anyone mentions hybrid-electric vehicles today, most people automatically think of cars, buses and trucks. But, up in the sky, the technology is also getting a lot of attention from aerospace engineers. That’s because electric systems are greener, lighter, quieter and more energy-efficient than traditional alternatives.

BROUGHTON, UK—Like a cartoon space alien with a dome-like skull, an Airbus Beluga transport plane arriving from Madrid drops from the sky above this village 200 miles northwest of London and taxis to a stop with its front end tucked inside a large building off the runway. Its bulbous forehead pops open to disgorge massive wing panels—98 feet long and 20 feet wide—that will soon be assembled by sophisticated robots and about 800 people into the largest carbon-fiber composite wings now built for commercial aviation.

MOBILE, AL—Airbus has announced a new round of hiring for its aircraft assembly plant here. Open positions include aircraft mechanics structure installers, installers for aircraft cabin interiors, and aircraft electrical installers.

TOULOUSE, France—Airbus has invented a nondestructive, ultrasonic tool for inspecting the composite airframe of the A350 XWB jetliner.

MOBILE, AL—The first Airbus jet assembled in the United States has flown for the first time. The A321, destined for JetBlue, took off from the Mobile Aeroplex March 21 at 9:36 a.m., performed its test sequences, and landed safely at 1:02 p.m.

TOULOUSE, France—Airbus is expanding its use of Ubisense RFID systems at its A350 final assembly line here.

MOBILE, AL—Workers at Airbus’ assembly plant here hit an important milestone last week as the first aircraft ever assembled at the site, an A321ceo destined for JetBlue, has rolled out and it is ready to receive its paint job prior to delivery.