Since its founding in 1970 Airbus has come a long way establishing itself as, arguably, the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world. The European aviation multinational corporation now produces planes in various production sites around the world for a cast number of airlines.
In this page:
- How Was Airbus Born?
- Which Aircraft Does Airbus Produce?
- How Does the A220 Differ From the Rest?
- The Wide Body Planes
- The Narrow Body Planes
- What Are ceo and neo Planes?
How Was Airbus Born?
Airbus is a consortium made up of European aerospace manufacturers. Originally Airbus was founded in May 1969 when the French Aérospatiale joined forces with the German Deutsche Airbus. In 1971 though the Spanish aerospace manufacturer CASA also joined the endeavour supporting the design and development of the groundbreaking Airbus A300, the firm’s first plane. Only in 1979 did British Aerospace also join the Airbus project completing the ownership lineup we know today.
Which Aircraft Models Has Airbus Produced?
So far in its history Airbus has produced 8 families of commercial aircraft. The list features:
- A300
- A310
- A320
- A330
- A340
- A380
- A350
- A220
Some of these planes however are no longer being produced by the manufacturer. Specifically Airbus is no longer producing its A340, A380, A300 and A310 jets.
How is The A220 Different From The Other Airbus Planes?
There is one Airbus plane which clearly stand out in the lineup. It is of course the only plane whose name doesn’t start with a 3: the A220. The little regional jet was in fact only bought out as a project by Airbus and not designed from scratch. Initially developed by Canadian firm Bombardier it took to the skies as the CS100, in its smaller variant, and the CS300 in the larger size. Currently we know these two aircraft as:
- CS100 – Currently the Airbus A220-100
- CS300 – Currently the Airbus A220-300
Since its introduction into service, the A220 has become one of Airbus’ best selling planes and is among passengers’ favourite aircraft to travel on. However Airbus is still working hard to make the project profitable. The success of the type is at the moment a double edged sword. The sales are good but the margins are extremely low compared to the A320 family which is 100% produced in house and whose costs are now perfectly optimised. Also the A220 is diverting some possible sales away from more profitable aircraft.
Which Airbus Planes are Wide Body Aircraft?
Airbus has a well assorted lineup of planes it manufactures. The aircraft lineup includes both narrow body and wide body planes that cover different operational needs for airlines around the world. So which are Airbus’ wide body planes? What is their intended use?
Among Airbus’ wide body planes are the:
- A300
- A310
- A330
- A340
- A350
- A380
As previously mentioned the A300, A310, A340 and A380 are no longer being produced. That means that at the moment Airbus is only producing the A350 and A330 as wide body aircraft.
The A300 went down in history as the first twin engine wide body aircraft. It also was the manufacturer’s first ever produced plane. Its successor, the A310 was a simple evolution of the A300 sharing its wide body twin engine characteristics.
Airbus then went on to launch in the ’90s the A330 and A340 models which share the starting design. Airbus had originally worked on the A340 only to realise that the future would see more and more twin engine extended operations, something that Boeing had foreseen with the 777. Therefore Airbus decided to change its design in order to produce a more fuel efficient twin engine airliner that would go on to become the A330.
The most bold and iconic Airbus wide body though is the A380. The only full length double decker commercial plane to enter service. Unfortunately though the plane became a passenger favourite but only a handful of airlines were able to make it work to its true potential.
Finally the latest addition and most technologically advanced jet is the A350. The airliner features composite material elements and an extremely wide fuselage and has become the current high capacity ULR capable plane of the Airbus lineup.
Which Airbus Planes are Narrow Body Aircraft?
On the other hand we have the Airbus narrow body plane offering, which is comprised of two aircraft families:
- A220
- A320
As mentioned the A220 project was acquired from Bombardier with planes assembled in Montreal, Canada, and in Mobile, Alabama United States.
The A320 family, as I explained in this article, is Airbus’ most successful aircraft type. The A320 family is all based on the same base design, however it features planes of different sizes with vastly different capacities. The A320 family is made up of the:
- A318
- A319
- A320 (neo and ceo)
- A321 (neo and ceo
The A318 is the smallest of the group and also the least favoured by airlines. The A321 is on the other hand the largest variant and in it LR version has become a formidable plane for long range route where demand might not be particularly high. For instance TAP, SAS and JetBlue all use this aircraft type regularly for transatlantic flights.
What Does neo and ceo Mean in Airbus Planes?
Many of the newer versions of previously existing Airbus planes are identified with neo in their name. For instance the newer versions of the A320 and A321 are the A321neo and the A320neo. But what does that neo in the name mean and stand for?
The acronym neo in Airbus’ plane names stand for:
- New
- Engine
- Option
The new planes are in fact fitted with new generation high efficiency engines that help, combined with improved aerodynamics, reduce fuel burn and overall costs for operators.
Alternatively the previous generation jets are now labelled with ceo, with that standing for:
- Current
- Engine
- Option
