Airbus A300

The Airbus A300 is the first aircraft built by the Airbus company and designed to be a wide-body, twin-engine commercial jet airliner. Between 1974 and July 2007, a total of 843 A300. Based on the Airbus A300, a model with a shorter length and a longer range was developed, the Airbus A310, and during the 1990s it served as the basis for the development of the more modern Airbus A330.

Introduction

The A300 was the world's first twin-engine wide-body airliner. It inspired some Boeing twin-engines like the B767 or the B777, and paved the way for ETOPS flights.

Background

Becoming one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in about 30 years' time requires more than just "nerve," a new way of looking at the market. Despite the fact that the companies that made up the Airbus consortium were old acquaintances in aeronautics, Airbus was unknown.

Airbus paid attention to the needs of passengers and airlines. There was a gap they could fill: a short to medium range aircraft that had the cost effectiveness of a twin engine and enough capacity to carry 250 to 300 passengers. The sale price had to be lower than that of any competitor.

Technology

Airbus used the latest technology available, some of which came from the Concorde. When it entered service in 1974, the A300 was technically very advanced, and greatly influenced later subsonic aircraft designs. The technological innovations were:

• Improved wings designed by De Havilland (after BAe Systems) with:
  • Supercritical section of control surfaces for excellent economic efficiency.
  • Improved aerodynamically efficient flight controls.
• Circular fuselage of 5,64 m in diameter, which allows 8 passengers per row.
• Metal fiber structures, so the weight is reduced.
• High degree of automation, so flight engineer intervention is required only in case of emergency.
• Advanced automatic pilot, which can direct the aircraft from ascent to landing.

The following improvements were later introduced:

• Reduced crew to 2 people thanks to the automation of the work of the flight engineer (developed at the request of Garuda Indonesia).
• Intensive use of composite materials.
• Electronic navigation tools.
• Control of the gravity center by transfer of fuel between the deposits.
• First plane to use Wingtip to improve aerodynamics.
• Sensitive flight controls to facilitate control (Cause of American Airlines Flight 587 crash)

All of this made the A300 the perfect replacement for older three-jet widebody aircraft such as the McDonnell Douglas DC10 or the Lockheed Tristar for medium-range routes. In early versions of the aircraft, Airbus even used the same engines as the DC10. Asian airlines used the A300 as a complement to their trimotors on these routes.

Airbus A300 Prototype in Toulouse

In service

After launch, sales of the A300 were low for a few years, with most orders coming from airlines that had an obligation to buy local products (notably Air France and Lufthansa). At one point, due to the oil crisis, Airbus had 16 unsold examples parked with all white fuselages waiting for a buyer.

In 1977 Eastern Airlines was interested in the model and rented four A300s to test how they would adapt to their routes and their fleet, until then made up exclusively of American models. He subsequently bought 23, and the A300 has since been sold in large numbers, reaching the current figure of 843 built.

A300B4-2C Aerocondor, 1978 at San Francisco International Airport

Also in 1977, Aerocondor Colombia received as the first airline in Latin America, an Airbus. The aircraft with the construction number MSN 029 was registered as HK-2057 and baptized with the name of "Ciudad de Barranquilla". Aerocondor exhibited, with demonstration flights, the new aircraft in the Latin American market and at the same time tests were carried out, with takeoffs in Bogotá and La Paz that simulated engine failure, to check the performance of the A300 at high-altitude airports.. This is under the auspices of the French entity CEV Center d'essais vol, in charge of approving and qualifying civil aircraft. Put into service on December 15, 1977, the airline operated the Airbus A300B4-2C on its routes to Miami originating from Barranquilla, Bogotá and Medellín. At the beginning of 1978, Aerocondor carried out a series of charter flights. On the first flight between Havana and San Diego (California), when the Airbus A300 landed, the airport was paralyzed, since this type of aircraft was totally unknown. There was a great display of television and other media, due to the novelty of the plane, which was the first Airbus to operate on the West coast of the United States, since the other airline to operate this new European model, Eastern Airlines, barely did it. was introducing into its routes on the East coast of that country.

Over time, the plane was widely used by Asian companies. It was used by Japan Air System, Thai Airways International, Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, China Airlines, PIA, Indian Airlines, Trans Australia Airlines and others. Since ETOPS does not apply to twin-engine aircraft in Asia, these airlines used them for routes through the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea. Australians used it on domestic and transcontinental routes.

The introduction of rules that would allow twin-engine aircraft to fly those long distances that were previously outside their limits (ETOPS), allowed Airbus to offer the A300 additionally as a medium and long-haul aircraft.

The A300 gave Airbus the experience of manufacturing and selling aircraft competitively. The A300 fuselage was later shortened (A310), lengthened (A330 and A340) or modified (Airbus Beluga). Boeing responded to this model with the B767. Similarly, Airbus developed a family of narrow-body aircraft, the A320, to compete with the established Boeing 737 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9/MD-80.

The current version is the A300-600R, which is ETOPS ratified for 180 minutes, this being the best version of the series, and the last, since production of the A300 stopped in July 2007.

Variants

A300C4-605R of Islandsflug Cargo.

A300B1

Only 2 were built: the first prototype and another example that was sold to an airline. It can carry 259 passengers with a maximum takeoff weight of 132 tons. It is powered by 2 General Electric CF6-50 engines.

A300B2

The first production version, 2.65m longer than the A300B1. It made its first flight on June 28, 1973 and entered commercial operation on May 23, 1974 with Air France on the Paris-London route.

A300B4

Similar to the B2, but the maximum takeoff weight has been increased to 157 tons. Production of the B2 and B4 together was 248 examples.

A300FFCC

The first plane that only needs 2 crew members. It entered service with Garuda Indonesia and Varig.

A300B10 (A310)

Shortened version with new wings, smaller tail and a 2-crew cockpit. There is a military version as a tanker for in-flight refueling. 210 examples of this version have been produced.

A300-600

The current version entered service in 1988, it is the same length as the B2 and B4, but with more interior space because it uses the tail and rear fuselage of the A310. It has more powerful engines (General Electric CF6-80 or Pratt & Whitney PW4000), and is available in passenger and cargo versions. This is the base model for the Airbus Beluga or A300-600ST. 300 copies have been made.

Operators

Civilian Operators

As of June 2020, there are 211 devices still in operation on the following airlines:

1. FedEx Express: 65
2. UPS Airlines: 52
3. EAT Leipzig: 22
4. Air Hong Kong: 9
5. MNG Airlines: 7
6. Iran Air: 5
7. Mahan Air: 5
8. Airbus: 5
9. Qeshm Air: 4
10. ASL Airlines Ireland: 4
11. Iran Airtour: 4
12. Aerounion: 3
13. The Cargo Airlines: 3
14. Transcharge: 3
15. Moalem Aviation: 2
16. Solinair: 2
17. Meraj Airlines: 1
18. San Marino Executive Aviation: 1

Government Operators

1. Government of Iraq: 1

Old Operators

A300 from Alitalia

A300 de Corsairfly

A300F from EgyptAir Cargo

A300 de Iberia

Scandinavian Airlines A300B4-120 at Heathrow Airport

Tradewinds Airlines A300B4-203F

Africa

AlgeriaAlgeria

• Air Algérie (3)

EgyptEgypt

• EgyptAir (25)
• EgyptAir Cargo (4)
• AMC Airlines (1)

Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea

• CEIBA Intercontinental (1)

LibyaLibya

• Libyan Airways (2)
• Global Air Transport (1)

SeychellesSeychelles

• Air Seychelles (1)

South Africa

• South African Airways (9)

Sudan

• Sudan Airways (11)

TunisiaTunisia

• Tunisair (7)

America

BoliviaBolivia

• Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (1)

ColombiaColombia

• Aerocondor Colombia (1)

United States

• American Airlines (35)

Venezuela Venezuela

• VIASA (4)

Asian

AfghanistanAfghanistan

• Ariana Afghan Airlines (3)

Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia

• Saudia (37)

QatarQatar

• Qatar Airways (12)

South KoreaSouth Korea

• Korean Air (40)

ChinaChina

• China Eastern Airlines (13)
• Air Macau (8)
• China Southern Airlines (6)

United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates

• Emirates (7)
• Etihad Airways (3)

India

• Air India (5)

IndonesiaIndonesia

• Garuda Indonesia (22)

IranIran

• Saha Air Lines (2)

JapanJapan

• Japan Airlines (22)

KuwaitKuwait

• Kuwait Airways (11)

LebanonLebanon

• Middle East Airlines (2)

MalaysiaMalaysia

• Malaysia Airlines (6)

OmanOman

• Oman Air (1)

PakistanPakistan

• Pakistan International Airlines (13)

Republic of China

• China Airlines (20)

Russia Russia

• UTair (5)

SingaporeSingapore

• Singapore Airlines (8)

SyriaSyria

• Syrian Air (1)

Sri LankaSri Lanka

• Srilankan Airlines (1)

Thailand

• Thai Airways (35)

UzbekistanUzbekistan

• Uzbekistan Airways (2)

VietnamVietnam

• Vietnam Airlines (2)

Europe

GermanyGermany

• Lufthansa (26)
• Flugdienst Condor (9)

SpainSpain

• Cygnus Air (1)
• Iberia (9)
• Swiftair (1)

France

• Air France (26)
• Corsairfly (1)

IcelandIceland

• Air Atlanta Icelandic (8)

NetherlandsNetherlands

• Transavia (1)

Sweden Sweden

• Scandinavian Airlines System (4)

TurkeyTurkey

• Onur Air (15)
• ACT Airlines (9)
• ULS Airlines Cargo (3)
• Pegasus Airlines (2)
• Turkish Airlines (2)

ItalyItaly

• Alitalia (14)

Russia Russia

• Aeroflot (18)

Oceania

Australia

• Qantas (4)

Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea

• Air Niugini (1)

Deliveries

Information up to the end of December 2007.

Accidents and incidents

Here are some accidents and incidents involving all Airbus A300 models:

• On July 3, 1988 Iran Air's 655 flight, almost at the end of the war between Iran and Iraq, was shot down just south of Qeshm Island by the USS Vincennes American missile cruise, killing its 290 occupants.

• On 29 September 1992, PIA flight 268 was a flight between Karachi and Kathmandu carried out in an Airbus A300B4-203 with AP-BCP registration that crashed in its approach to Kathmandu International Airport. In the event the 167 occupants of the aircraft died.

• On 26 April 1994, China Airlines flight 140 crashed just before landing at Nagoya International Airport killing 264 of its 271 passengers.

• On 26 September 1997, the flight 152 of Garuda Indonesia crashed into mountain forests in its approach to the airport. As a result, it ends with the life of its 234 passengers. It's the worst air accident in aviation history in Indonesia.

• On 7 February 1998, China Airlines flight 676 crashed into a residential area on the Taoyuan road near Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taiwan,

• On 12 November 2001, American Airlines flight 587 crashes in the Queens area, New York City, just a minute after taking off, ending the lives of all its 260 occupants, killing 5 people on the ground and seriously wounding one.

• On November 22, 2003, an Airbus A300B4 cargo operated by DHL was hit at the tip of the left wing by a ground-to-air missile while taking off from Baghdad, Iraq to Al Muharraq, Baréin causing damage to the hydraulic system and a fire in the affected wing, fortunately the plane was able to land again in Baghdad and everyone on board survived.

• On 13 April 2010, AeroUnion's 302 flight suffered an accident in its final approach to Monterrey International Airport around 23:20 hours (local time), the 5 crew members on board and two people on land died.

• On 26 November 2020, an Airbus A300-600 freighter from the EAT Leipzig airline, which operates for the German messaging company DHL, performed a high-energy take-off abortion at Brussels Airport, causing damage to the tires. The incident did not result in injuries.

Features table

Descriptive geometry of Airbus A300B6.

Power plants