Which Airlines Still Use the Airbus A300 as a Passenger Jet?

The A300, and its successor the A310, are the planes that introduced Airbus in to the commercial aircraft market all the way back in 1972. Most of these planes have been retired and no longer fly. Those that are still flying mostly operate for cargo operators. However there is a very small group of airlines that are still using the A300 and the A310 for passenger transport. Let’s take a closer look at which exotic airlines are still using these jets for passenger use.

A Little About the Airbus A300 and A310

The A300 was Airbus’ first attempt to take on Boeing on a global scale as an aircraft manufacturer. The European conglomerate introduced this revolutionary concept of a twin engine fuel efficient wide body jet. After quite a few struggles to rack up some sales, things started finally moving when Airbus bagged a deal with American carrier Eastern Air Lines. From there onwards things started to move fast with many airlines placing orders.

Initially the A300B4-200 had a classic, for the time, 3 man cockpit crew, but that all changed with the A300-600 which streamlined it down to 2 men and glass cockpit technology was introduced on the A310.

The A310 entered service in the 1980’s when the manufacturer spotted the need for a longer range plane to offer its clients. Both planes share the same type rating, meaning that pilots can fly either of them with the same training. The Airbus A310 is based on the same base design as the A300 with a shorter fuselage and smaller wings optimised for longer travel distances, such as transatlantic routes.

Which Airlines Still Use The A300 Passenger Jet?

Unsurprisingly the airlines that still use the Airbus A300 for passenger transport are all located in sanctioned countries. Areas where it is very complicated or impossible to acquire brand new planes. Therefore airlines have to make do with planes they have had in their fleets since before the sanctions were imposed or old second hand aircraft.

With all of that said it is unsurprising that all of the A300 operators are based in Iran, specifically them being:

Iran Air
Iran Air Tours
Mahan Air
Meraj Air
Qeshm

All except one plane are the newer A300-600 variant. The only plane that in the older A300B4-200 variant is in Iran Air’s fleet.

Which Airlines Still Use The A310 Passenger Jet?

Things are not all that different when we look at which airlines are currently using the Airbus A310. The carriers are all located in Iran with the exception of Ariana Afghan Airlines. Here’s the complete list of which airlines are currently using the A310: