The Airbus A320 Family

The industry-leading narrow-body airliner, developed and produced by Airbus SE in various configurations and since 1987 until today.

About the Airbus A320 Family

The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus SE. Initially, the Airbus A320 was launched in March 1984 and took its first flight on 22 February 1987. Later, in April 1988 its launch customer Air France received its first Airbus A320. The longer Airbus A321 followed in January 1994, and the shorter Airbus A319 in April 1996. The smallest member of the Airbus A320 family, the A318, flew in July 2003 for the first time.

 

Variants of the Airbus A320 Family

The Airbus A320 family comprises a range of aircraft, based on the baseline A320, that share a common design. Their passenger capacity ranges from 100 on the A318 to 220 on the A321, competing with the 737, 757, and 717. Notably, all four variants share the same flight deck and pilot type rating. Recently, all variants have become available as corporate jets, and a variant of the A319 known as the A319LR is also in development. The A319MRA is an example of a military version. Among the carriers, American Airlines is the largest in operation, with 392 in circulation as of September 30, 2017. Whilst technically the name “A320” only refers to the original medium-sized aircraft, this often includes any aircraft from the A318/A319/A320/A321 family. Since 2004 (EASA) and 2006 (FAA), all variants can be ETOPS (Extended Range Twin Engine Operating Performance Standards) certified for 180 minutes. A recent project has led to the modifying the name to ‘Current Engine Option’ (CEO) following the Airbus A320neo project.

ICAO Type DesignatorNameLength (m)
AIRBUS A-319neoAIRBUS A-319neo33.84 m
AIRBUS A-320neoAIRBUS A-320neo37.57 m
AIRBUS A-321neoAIRBUS A-321neo44.51 m
AIRBUS A-318AIRBUS A-31831.44 m
AIRBUS A-319AIRBUS A-31933.84 m
AIRBUS A-320AIRBUS A-32037.57 m
AIRBUS A-321AIRBUS A-32144.51 m

The A321P2F Freighter Aircraft

The A321P2F program, which converts A320 and A321 aircraft into freighters, was established by Airbus Freighter Conversion GmbH. Elbe Furkzagwerke GmbH (EFW) in Dresden, Germany, and Zhukovsky, Russia, will modify the planes. The launch customer AerCap signed a definitive agreement in 2008 to convert 30 A320/A321 passenger aircraft into A320/A321P2F. However, Airbus announced in June 2011 that all partners would end their passenger-to-freighter programs, given high demand for used aircraft for passenger service. On June 17, 2015, ST Aerospace signed a cooperation agreement with Airbus and EFW for the introduction of the A320/A321P2F conversion program. In August 2019, Qantas was announced as the launch operator of the A321P2F modified freighter for Australia Post, with up to three aircraft expected to be delivered in October 2020. Titan Airlines received delivery of its first A321P2F in January 2021, which was converted at Singapore Seletar Airport. The first conversion aircraft first flew on January 22, 2020, was delivered to Valair, and received EASA Supplemental Type Certification in February. Airbus predicts a market for 1,000 narrowbody conversions between 2020 and 2040. On October 27, 2020, the first A321P2F was delivered to Qantas after the windows and exit doors were removed and a large hydraulically-operated main cargo door was installed.

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