Airbus A320 family

For other uses, see A320 (disambiguation).
For the series currently in production, see Airbus A320neo family.

Airbus A320 family
A318/A319/A320/A321
An A320 prototype in flight: a low-wing airliner with twin underwing turbofans
General information
RoleNarrow-body airliner
National originMulti-national[a]
ManufacturerAirbus
StatusIn service
Primary usersAmerican Airlines
Number built11,707 as of October 2024[1]
History
Manufactured
  • 1986–present
  • 1986–2021 (ceo)[2]
  • 2012–present (neo)
Introduction date18 April 1988 with Air France[3]
First flight22 February 1987; 37 years ago (1987-02-22)[4]
Variants
Developed intoAirbus A320neo family

The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France.[3] The first member of the family was followed by the stretched A321 (first delivered in January 1994), the shorter A319 (April 1996), and the even shorter A318 (July 2003). Final assembly takes place in Toulouse in France; Hamburg in Germany; Tianjin in China since 2009; and Mobile, Alabama in the United States since April 2016.

The twinjet has a six-abreast economy cross-section and came with either CFM56 or IAE V2500 turbofan engines, except the CFM56/PW6000 powered A318. The family pioneered the use of digital fly-by-wire and side-stick flight controls in airliners. Variants offer maximum take-off weights from 68 to 93.5 tonnes (150,000 to 206,000 lb), to cover a 5,740–6,940 kilometres; 3,570–4,320 miles (3,100–3,750 nmi) range. The 31.4 m (103 ft) long A318 typically accommodates 107 to 132 passengers. The 124-156 seat A319 is 33.8 m (111 ft) long. The A320 is 37.6 m (123 ft) long and can accommodate 150 to 186 passengers. The 44.5 m (146 ft) A321 offers 185 to 230 seats. The Airbus Corporate Jets are modified business jet versions of the standard commercial variants.

In December 2010, Airbus announced the re-engined A320neo (new engine option), which entered service with Lufthansa in January 2016. With more efficient turbofans and improvements including sharklets, it offers up to 15% better fuel economy. The previous A320 generation is now called A320ceo (current engine option).

American Airlines is the largest A320 operator with 479 aircraft in its fleet, while IndiGo is the largest customer with 930 aircraft on order. In October 2019, the A320 family surpassed the Boeing 737 to become the highest-selling airliner. As of October 2024, a total of 18,994 A320 family aircraft had been ordered and 11,707 delivered, of which 10,803 aircraft were in service with more than 350 operators. The global A320 fleet had completed more than 176 million flights over 328 million block hours since its entry into service. The A320ceo initially competed with the 737 Classic and the MD-80, then their successors, the 737 Next Generation (737NG) and the MD-90 respectively, while the 737 MAX is Boeing's response to the A320neo.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "Airbus Orders and Deliveries" (XLS). Airbus. 31 October 2024. Archived from the original on 10 February 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference A320ceoLast2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b David Learmount (3 September 1988). "A320 in service: an ordinary aeroplane". Flight International. Vol. 134, no. 4129. Reed Business Publishing. pp. 132, 133. ISSN 0015-3710. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference A320Maiden was invoked but never defined (see the help page).