In 2012, Airbus took a bold step to literally put the “Made in the USA” stamp on its aircraft by opening its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Mobile, AL. Xenophon helped announce the opening of the facility which showcased Airbus efforts to provide hundreds of jobs to people in the Gulf Coast region. The story was a key piece of a larger campaign to blunt criticism from supporters of the company’s primary competitor’s and significantly shifted public opinion in favor of the aircraft manufacturer.