Airbus A320 family

A320 family A318/A319/A320/A321
Lufthansa A320-211
Role	Narrow-body jet airliner
National origin	Multi-national
Manufacturer	Airbus
First flight	22 February 1987
Introduction	18 April 1988 with Air France
Status	In service
Primary users	IndiGo EasyJet China Southern Airlines China Eastern Airlines
Produced	1981-present
Number built	5,635 as of June 2013[1]
Unit cost	A318: US $67.7 million, €58 million (2022)[2] A319: US $89.6 million, €72.37 million (2022)[2] A320: US $98 million, €79.16 million (2022)[2] A321: US $114.9 million, €95 million (2022)[2]
Variants	Airbus A318
Developed into	Airbus A320neo family

The Airbus A320 family is a family of jet airliners. It only has two rows of seats, which means it is a narrow-body plane. The family is made by Airbus and it is made up of the A318, A319, A320 and A321, as well as the ACJ business jet. The A320 family is made in Toulouse, France, and Hamburg, Germany. Since 2009, an airplane plant in Tianjin in the People's Republic of China has also been making aircraft for Chinese airlines.^[3] In June 2012, Airbus said that it would start making some A319, A320, and A321 planes in Mobile, Alabama.^[4] The planes in the family can hold up to 220 passengers and they have a range of 3,100 to 12,000 km (1,700 to 6,500 nmi). The range depends on the model.

The first plane in the A320 family was the A320, which was launched in February 1981. It first flew on 22 February 1987 and the first A320 was delivered in 1988. The family got bigger over time, and there are now three other aircraft in the family: the A321 (first delivered 1986), the A319 (1996) and the A318 (2003). The A320 was the first airliner to have fly-by-wire flight control systems. It was also the first commercial airliner to have side-stick controls. (A side-stick is a small joystick which is used to fly the plane instead of a yoke.)

On 1 December 2010, Airbus announced a new version of the plane, called the A320neo.^[5] With the A320neo, new engines will be used (the CFM International LEAP-X and the Pratt & Whitney PW1900G) and some improvements have been made to the outside of the plane. Winglets have also been added, which Airbus calls Sharklets. The A320neo will use 15% less fuel than the current A320. Virgin America is the A320neo's launch customer. As of 31 December 2011, 1,196 A320neo aircraft have been ordered by 21 airlines, which makes it the fastest-selling commercial aircraft in history.^[6]

As of June 2013, 5,635 Airbus A320 family aircraft have been delivered, and 5,443 of these are still being used. As well as this, 4,014 planes are on order. The A320 family's main rivals are the Boeing 737, 717, 757 and the McDonnell Douglas MD-80. Although the 717 is not used on most airlines, only Delta and Hawaiian Airlines still use it. See Boeing 717 for more information.

1. ↑ "Airbus orders and deliveries". Airbus. 31 May 2013. Archived from the original (Microsoft Excel) on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} "Airbus aircraft 2011 average list prices". Airbus S.A.S. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
3. ↑ Airbus. "Aircraft Families". Archived from the original on 3 March 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
4. ↑ Airbus. "Airbus and Mobile, Alabama: Continuing a successful relationship". Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
5. ↑ "Airbus offers new fuel saving engine options for A320 Family". Airbus. 1 December 2010. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
6. ↑ "Airbus wins 211 orders and commitments worth US $20.5 billion". Airbus. 16 November 2011. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2011.