Airbus A320 family
Updated: Wikipedia source
The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus, and is the best-selling airliner ever built. The A320 aircraft programme was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the family was followed by the stretched A321 (first delivered in January 1994), the shorter A319 (April 1996), and the shortest variant, the A318 (July 2003). Final assembly takes place in Toulouse in France; Hamburg in Germany; Tianjin in China since 2009; and Mobile, Alabama, in the United States since April 2016. The twinjet has a six-abreast economy cross-section and came with either CFM56-5A or -5B, or IAE V2500 turbofan engines, except the A318. The A318 has either two CFM56-5B engines or a pair of PW6000 engines in place of the IAE V2500. The family pioneered the use of digital fly-by-wire and side-stick flight controls in airliners. Variants offer maximum take-off weights from 68 to 93.5 tonnes (150,000 to 206,000 lb), to cover a 5,740–6,940 kilometres; 3,570–4,320 miles (3,100–3,750 nmi) range. The 31.4 m (103 ft) long A318 typically accommodates 107 to 132 passengers. The 124-156 seat A319 is 33.8 m (111 ft) long. The A320 is 37.6 m (123 ft) long and can accommodate 150 to 186 passengers. The 44.5 m (146 ft) A321 offers 185 to 230 seats. The Airbus Corporate Jets are modified business jet versions of the standard commercial variants. In December 2010, Airbus announced the re-engined A320neo (new engine option), which entered service with Lufthansa in January 2016. With more efficient turbofans and improvements including sharklets, it offers up to 15% better fuel economy. The previous A320 generation was renamed A320ceo (current engine option). American Airlines is the largest A320 family operator with 487 aircraft in its fleet, while IndiGo is the largest customer with 930 aircraft on order. A total of 19,495 A320 family aircraft had been ordered with 12,375 delivered to customers as of November 2025. It overtook the Boeing 737 family in total orders in October 2019, and in total deliveries in September 2025. It is also the most-utilised airliner with 11,384 units in service with more than 350 operators. The global A320 fleet had completed more than 176 million flights over 328 million block hours since its entry into service. The A320ceo initially competed with the 737 Classic and the MD-80, then their successors, the 737 Next Generation (737NG) and the MD-90 respectively, while the 737 MAX is Boeing's response to the A320neo.