Airbus A300

A300
A300B4-600R operated by Libyan Arab Airlines
Role	Wide-body jet airliner
National origin	Multi-national
Manufacturer	Airbus
First flight	28 October 1972
Introduction	30 May 1974 with Air France
Status	In service
Primary users	FedEx Express UPS Airlines European Air Transport Leipzig IranAir Meraj Airlines Qeshm Air Mahan Air
Produced	1971–2007
Number built	561[1][2]
Variants	A300-600ST Beluga Airbus A310
Developed into	Airbus A330 Airbus A340

The Airbus A300 is a short- to medium-range wide-body twin-engine jet airliner that was developed and manufactured by Airbus. Released in 1972 as the world's first twin-engined widebody, it was the first product of Airbus Industrie, a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers, now a subsidiary of Airbus Group. The A300 can typically seat 266 passengers in a two-class layout, with a maximum range of 4,070 nautical miles (7,540 km) when fully loaded, depending on model.

Launch customer Air France introduced the type into service on 30 May 1974. Production of the A300 ceased in July 2007, along with its smaller A310 derivative. Freighter sales for which the A300 competed are now fulfilled by a new A330-200F derivative.^[3]

Development

An American Airlines A300B4-600R approaches Miami International Airport in 1993. On 29 August 2009, American Airlines retired all A300 aircraft.

The requirements were stated in 1966 by Frank Kolk, an American Airlines executive, for a Boeing 727 replacement on busy short- to medium-range routes such as United States transcontinental flights. His brief included a passenger capacity of 250 to 300 seated in a twin-aisle configuration and fitted with two engines, with the capability of carrying full passenger loads without penalty from high-altitude airports like Denver. American manufacturers responded with widebody trijets, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, as twinjets were banned from many routes by the FAA.

A Lufthansa A300B4-600R lands at Frankfurt Airport in 2003. Lufthansa retired its A300 fleet on 1 July 2009.

Cockpit view of an Airbus A300B4-200 of Iran Air

On 26 September 1967, the British, French, and West German governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding to start development of the 300-seat Airbus A300.^[4] An earlier announcement had been made in July 1967, but at that time the announcement had been clouded by the British Government's support for the Airbus, which coincided with its refusal to back British Aircraft Corporation's (BAC) proposed competitor, a development of the BAC 1-11, despite a preference for the latter expressed by British European Airways (BEA). In the months following this agreement, both the French and British governments expressed doubts about the aircraft. Another problem was the requirement for a new engine to be developed by Rolls-Royce; the triple-spool RB207 of 47,500 lbf.^[5] In December 1968, the French and British partner companies (Sud Aviation and Hawker Siddeley) proposed a revised configuration, the 250-seat Airbus A250. Renamed the A300B, the aircraft would not require new engines, reducing development costs.^[6] To attract potential US customers, American General Electric CF6-50 engines powered the A300 instead of the British RB207. The British government withdrew from the venture; however, the British firm Hawker-Siddeley stayed on as a contractor, developing the wings for the A300, which were pivotal in later versions' impressive performance from short domestic to long intercontinental flights. (Years later, through British Aerospace, the UK re-entered the consortium.)

Airbus Industrie was formally set up in 1970 following an agreement between Aérospatiale (France) and the antecedents to Deutsche Aerospace (Germany). They were joined by the Spanish CASA in 1971. Each company would deliver its sections as fully equipped, ready-to-fly assemblies.

The first prototype A300 was unveiled on 28 September 1972, making its maiden flight from Toulouse–Blagnac Airport on 28 October that year,^[7] which was later commemorated on a French three franc stamp. The first production model, the A300B2, entered service in 1974 followed by the A300B4 one year later. Initially the success of the consortium was poor, but by 1979 there were 81 aircraft in service. It was the launch of the A320 in 1987 that established Airbus in the aircraft market – over 400 orders were placed before it flew, compared to 15 for the A300 in 1972.

The A300 was the first airliner to use just-in-time manufacturing techniques. Complete aircraft sections were manufactured by consortium partners all over Europe. These were airlifted to the final assembly line at Toulouse-Blagnac by a fleet of Boeing 377-derived Aero Spacelines Super Guppy aircraft. Originally devised as a way to share the work among Airbus' partners without the expense of two assembly lines, it turned out to be a more efficient way of building aircraft (more flexible and reduced costs) as opposed to building the whole aircraft at one site.

Design

Airbus A300 fuselage cross-section, showing the passenger compartment above and the baggage area below. On display in the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany.

Airbus partners employed the latest technology, some derived from Concorde. On entry into service in 1974, the A300 was a very advanced plane and influenced later subsonic airliner designs. The technological highlights include:

• Advanced wings by de Havilland (later BAE Systems) with:
  • Supercritical airfoil section for economical performance
  • advanced aerodynamically efficient flight control surfaces
• 5.64 m (222 in) diameter circular fuselage section for 8-abreast passenger seating and wide enough for 2 LD3 cargo containers side-by-side
• Structures made from metal billets, reducing weight
• First airliner to be fitted with wind shear protection
• Advanced autopilots capable of flying the aircraft from climb-out to landing
• Electrically controlled braking system

Later A300s incorporate other advanced features such as:

• 2-man crew by automating the flight engineer's functions, an industry first
• Glass cockpit flight instruments
• Extensive use of composites for an aircraft of its era
• Center-of-gravity control by shifting around fuel
• Wingtip fences for better aerodynamics (first introduced on the A310-300).

All these made the A300 a more economical substitute for widebody trijets such as McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L-1011 for short to medium routes. On the early versions, Airbus used the same engines and similar major systems as the DC-10.

Operational history

Air France A300B2 at Farnborough Airshow in 1974

Mahan Air Airbus A300B4-600 lands at Birmingham International Airport, England (2010)

After the launch, sales of the A300 were weak for some years, with most orders going to airlines that had an obligation to favor the domestically made product – notably Air France and Lufthansa. At one stage, Airbus had 16 "whitetail" A300s – completed but unsold aircraft – sitting on the tarmac. Germanwings was the world's first international airline to purchase the A300. Indian Airlines was the world's first domestic airline to purchase the A300. These have now been retired.

In 1974, Korean Air ordered 4 A300s, becoming the first non-European international airline to order Airbus aircraft. Airbus saw South-East Asia as a vital market ready to be opened up and believed that Korean Air to be the 'key'.^[8]

It was becoming clear that the whole concept of a short haul widebody was flawed. Airlines operating the A300 on short haul routes were forced to reduce frequencies to try and fill the aircraft. As a result, they lost passengers to airlines operating more frequent narrow body flights. The supposed widebody comfort which it was assumed passengers would demand was illusory. Eventually, Airbus had to build its own narrowbody aircraft (the A320) to compete with the Boeing 737 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9/MD-80. The savior of the A300 was the advent of Extended Range Twin Operations (ETOPS), a revised FAA rule which allows twin-engine jets to fly long-distance routes that were previously off-limits to them. This enabled Airbus to develop the aircraft as a medium/long range airliner.

In 1977, US carrier Eastern Air Lines leased four A300s as an in-service trial. Frank Borman, ex-astronaut and the then CEO, was impressed that the A300 consumed 30% less fuel than his fleet of Tristars and then ordered 23 of the type (This order is often cited as the point at which Airbus came to be seen as a serious competitor to the large American aircraft-manufacturers Boeing and McDonnell Douglas). This was followed by an order from Pan Am. From then on, the A300 family sold well, eventually reaching a total of 878 delivered aircraft.^[1][2]

In December 1977, AeroCóndor Colombia became the first Airbus operator in Latin America, leasing one Airbus A300, named "Ciudad de Barranquilla".

The aircraft found particular favor with Asian airlines, being bought by Japan Air System, Korean Air, China Eastern Airlines, Thai Airways International, Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, China Airlines, Pakistan International Airlines, Indian Airlines, Trans Australia Airlines and many others. As Asia did not have restrictions similar to the FAA 60-minutes rule for twin-engine airliners which existed at the time, Asian airlines used A300s for routes across the Bay of Bengal and South China Sea.

China Eastern Airlines A300B4-600R cabin in-flight

In 1977, the A300B4 became the first ETOPS compliant aircraft – its high performance and safety standards qualified it for Extended Twin Engine Operations over water, providing operators with more versatility in routing. In 1982 Garuda Indonesia became the first airline to fly the A300B4-200FF. By 1981, Airbus was growing rapidly, with over 300 aircraft sold and options for 200 more planes for over forty airlines. Alarmed by the success of the A300, Boeing responded with the new Boeing 767.

The A300 provided Airbus the experience of manufacturing and selling airliners competitively. The basic fuselage of the A300 was later stretched (A330 and A340), shortened (A310), or modified into derivatives (A300-600ST Beluga Super Transporter).The largest freight operator of the A300 is FedEx Express, which, as of January 2012, had 71 A300 aircraft in service. UPS Airlines also operates freighter versions of the A300. The final version was the A300-600R and is rated for 180-minute ETOPS. The A300 has enjoyed renewed interest in the secondhand market for conversion to freighters. The freighter versions – either new-build A300-600s or converted ex-passenger A300-600s, A300B2s and B4s – account for most of the world freighter fleet after the Boeing 747 freighter.

In March 2006 Airbus announced the closure of the A300/A310 line^[9] making them the first Airbus aircraft to be discontinued. The final production A300 made its initial flight on 18 April 2007^[10] and was delivered on 12 July 2007. It was an A300F freighter for FedEx. Airbus has announced a support package to keep A300s flying commercially until at least 2025.

Variants

This A300B1 was the second A300 built and one of the first to enter airline service in November 1974. It was operated by Trans European Airways of Belgium until retirement from service in November 1990.

An Islandsflug Cargo A300C4-605R at Madrid Barajas Airport, Spain. (2006)

The ZERO-G A300 at Cologne Bonn Airport, Germany. (2004)

Airbus A300B4-200 of Singapore Airlines at Farnborough Airshow in 1980.

A300B1

Only two were built: the first prototype, registered F-WUAB, then F-OCAZ, and a second aircraft, F-WUAC, which was leased in November 1974 to Trans European Airways (TEA) and re-registered OO-TEF. TEA instantly subleased the aircraft for six weeks to Air Algérie, but continued to operate the aircraft until 1990. It had accommodation for 300 passengers (TEA) or 323 passengers (Air Algérie) with a maximum weight of 132,000 kg and two General Electric CF6-50A engines of 220 kN thrust. The A300B1 was five frames shorter than the later production versions, being only 50.97 m (167.2 ft) in length.

A300B2

The first production version. Powered by General Electric CF6 or Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines (the same engines that powered the Boeing 747-100, "the original jumbo jet") of between 227 and 236 kN thrust, it entered service with Air France in May 1974. The prototype A300B2 made its first flight on 28 June 1973 and was certificated by the French and German authorities on 15 March 1974 and FAA approval followed on 30 May 1974. The first production A300B2 (A300 number 5) made its maiden flight on 15 April 1974 and was handed over to Air France a few weeks later on 10 May 1974. The A300B2 entered revenue service on 23 May 1974 between Paris and London.

• A300B2-100: 137 Metric Ton MTOW
• A300B2-200: 142 Metric Ton MTOW, with Krüger flaps, first delivery to South African Airways in 1976
• A300B2-300: increased Maximum Landing Weight/Maximum Zero Fuel Weight

A300B4

Garuda Indonesia was the launch customer of Airbus A300B4-200FF series in 1982

The major production version. Features a centre fuel tank for increased fuel capacity (47,500 kg) and new wing root Krüger flaps which were later made available as an option for the B2.^[11] Production of the B2 and B4 totalled 248. The first A300B4 (the 9th A300) flew on 25 December 1974 and was certified on 26 March 1975. The first delivery was made to Germanair (which later merged into Hapag Lloyd) on 23 May 1975.

• A300B4-100: 157.5 Metric Ton MTOW,^[12] first delivery to Germanair in 1975.
• A300B4-200: 165 Metric Ton MTOW, first delivery to Hapag-Lloyd Flug in 1980
• A300B4-200FF: An A300 with a "forward-facing" crew compartment. The world's first 2-crew widebody airliner. Includes some of the A310's and A300-600's digital avionics. First saw service with Garuda Indonesia in 1982, further customers were VASP, Tunisair and Kar-Air/Finnair.
• A300B4-600: Referred to as the A300-600. See Below.
• A300C4: Convertible freighter version, with a large cargo door on the port side. First delivered to South African Airways in October 1982.
• A300F4-200: Freighter version of the A300B4-200. First delivery occurred in 1986, but only very few were built as the A300F4-200 was soon replaced by the more capable A300-600F (official designation: A300F4-600).

A300-600

Officially designated A300B4-600, this version is nearly the same length as the B2 and B4 but has increased space because it uses the A310 rear fuselage and horizontal tail. It has higher power CF6-80 or Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines and uses the Honeywell 331-250 auxiliary power unit (APU).^[13] Other changes include an improved wing featuring a recambered trailing edge, the incorporation of simpler single-slotted Fowler flaps, the deletion of slat fences, and the removal of the outboard ailerons after they were deemed unnecessary on the A310.^[14] The A300-600 made its first flight on 8 July 1983 and entered service later that year with Saudi Arabian Airlines. A total of 313 A300-600s (all versions) have been sold. The A300-600 also has a similar cockpit to the A310, eliminating the need for a flight engineer. The FAA issues a single type rating which allows operation of both the A310 and A300-600.

• A300-600: (Official designation: A300B4-600) The baseline model of the −600 series.
• A300-620C: (Official designation: A300C4-620) A convertible freighter version. First delivery December 1985.
• A300-600F: (Official designation: A300F4-600) The freighter version of the baseline −600.
• A300-600R: (Official designation: A300B4-600R) The increased range −600, achieved by an additional trim fuel tank in the tail. First delivery in 1988 to American Airlines; all A300s built since 1989 (freighters included) are −600Rs. Japan Air System (later merged in Japan Airlines) took delivery of the last new-built passenger A300, an A300-622R, in November 2002.
• A300-600RF: (Official designation: A300F4-600R) The freighter version of the −600R. All A300s delivered between November 2002 and 12 July 2007 (last ever A300 delivery) were A300-600RFs.

IranAir Airbus A300B4-605R landing at Heathrow Airport . Reg: EP-IBA .

A300B10 (A310)

Introduced a shorter fuselage, a new, higher aspect ratio wing, smaller horizontal tail and two crew operation. It was available in standard −200 and the Extended range −300 with 9,600 km (5,965 mi) range in both passenger and full cargo versions.

It was also available as a military tanker/transport serving the Canadian Forces and German Air Force. Sales total 260, although five of these (ordered by Iraqi Airways) were never built.

A300-600ST

Commonly referred to as the Airbus Beluga or "Airbus Super Transporter," these five airframes are used by Airbus to ferry parts between the company's disparate manufacturing facilities, thus enabling workshare distribution. They replaced the four Aero Spacelines Super Guppys previously used by Airbus.

Incidents and accidents

Wreckage of PIA Flight 268

As of September 2015, the A300 has been involved in 70 accidents and incidents, including 32 hull-losses and 1,435 fatalities.^[15]

• 27 June 1976: Air France Flight 139, originating in Tel Aviv, Israel and carrying 248 passengers and a crew of 12 took off from Athens, Greece, headed for Paris, France. The flight was hijacked by terrorists, and was eventually flown to Entebbe Airport in Uganda. At the airport, Israeli commandos rescued 102 of the 105 hostages.
• 17 March 1982: Air France Flight 125, originating in San'a International, Yemen carrying 111 passengers and 13 crew aborted take off when an explosion in one engine was felt. Aircraft was declared a loss after the resulting fire. No fatalities.
• 18 December 1983: Malaysia Airlines Flight 684, an Airbus A300B4 leased from Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), registration OY-KAA, crashed short of the runway at Kuala Lumpur in bad weather while attempting to land on a flight from Singapore. All 247 persons aboard escaped unharmed but the aircraft was destroyed in the resulting fire.^[16]
• 26 October 1986: Thai Airways Flight 620, an Airbus A300B4-601, originating Bangkok suffered an explosion mid-flight. The aircraft descended rapidly and was able to land safely at Osaska. The aircraft was later repaired and there were no fatalities. The probable cause was recognised as "an explosive, brought into the aircraft, blew up in the left aft lavatory."^[17]
• 29 September 1986: Indian Airlines Flight 571 overran runway due to aborted takeoff. No fatalities.
• 21 September 1987: EgyptAir Airbus A300B4-203 touched down 700 m past the runway threshold. The right main gear hit runway lights and the aircraft collided with an antenna and fences. Five crew fatalities. No passengers.^[18]
• 3 July 1988: Iran Air Flight 655 was shot down by the USS Vincennes in the Persian Gulf after being mistaken for an attacking Iranian F-14 Tomcat, killing all 290 passengers and crew.^[19]
• 15 February 1991: two Kuwait Airways A300C4-620s and two Boeing 767s that had been seized during Iraq's occupation of Kuwait were destroyed in coalition bombing of Mosul Airport.^[20]
• 28 September 1992: Pakistan International Airlines Flight 268, an A300B4 crashed on approach near Kathmandu, Nepal. All 12 crew and 155 passengers perished.^[21]
• 24 April 1993: an Air Inter Airbus A300B2-1C was written off after colliding with a light pole while being pushed back at Montpellier.^[22]
• 15 November 1993: Indian Airlines Flight 440 made an emergency landing in a field near Tirupati after running out of fuel. The plane had aborted a landing in poor visibility at Hyderabad and was unable to reach its alternate because of increased fuel consumption due to stuck flaps. No fatalities.^[23]
• 26 April 1994: China Airlines Flight 140 (Taiwan) crashed at the end of runway at Nagoya, Japan, killing all 15 crew and 249 of 256 passengers on board.
• 24 December 1994: Air France Flight 8969 was hijacked at Houari Boumedienne Airport in Algiers, by four terrorists who belonged to the Armed Islamic Group. The terrorists apparently intended to crash the plane over the Eiffel Tower on Boxing Day. After a failed attempt to leave Marseille following a confrontational firefight between the terrorists and the GIGN French Special Forces, the result was the death of all four terrorists. (Snipers on the terminal front's roof shot dead two of the terrorists. The other two terrorists died as a result of gunshots in the cabin after approximately 20 minutes.) Three hostages including a Vietnamese diplomat were executed in Algiers, 229 hostages survived, many of them wounded by shrapnel. The almost 15-year-old aircraft was written off.
• 26 September 1997: Garuda Indonesia Flight 152 was on approach to Polonia International Airport in Medan. The plane later crashed into a ravine in Buah Nabar due to ATC error and apparent haze that covers the country which limits the visibility. All 234 passengers and crew aboard perished in Indonesia's deadliest crash.
• 16 February 1998: China Airlines Flight 676 (Taiwan) crashed into residential area close to CKS international airport near Taipei, Taiwan. All 196 people on board were killed, including Taiwan's central bank president. Seven people on the ground were also killed.
• 24 December 1999: Indian Airlines Flight IC 814 from Kathmandu, Nepal, to New Delhi was hijacked to Kandahar, Afghanistan. There was one fatality.
• 12 November 2001: American Airlines Flight 587 crashed into the Belle Harbor neighbourhood of Queens, New York, United States shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport. The vertical stabilizer ripped off the aircraft after the rudder was mishandled during wake turbulence. All 260 people on board were killed, along with 5 people on the ground. It is the second-deadliest incident involving an A300 to date and the second-deadliest aircraft incident on United States soil.
• 22 November 2003: European Air Transport OO-DLL, operating on behalf of DHL Aviation, was hit by an SA-14 'Gremlin' missile after takeoff from Baghdad International Airport. The aeroplane lost hydraulic pressure and thus the controls. After extending the landing gear to create more drag, the crew piloted the plane using differences in engine thrust and landed the plane with minimal further damage. The plane was repaired and offered for sale, but in April 2011 it still remained parked at Baghdad Intl.^[24]
• 1 March 2004, Pakistan International Airlines Flight 2002 burst 2 tires whilst taking off from King Abdulaziz International Airport. Fragments of the tire were ingested by the engines, this caused the engines to catch fire and an aborted takeoff was performed. Due to the fire substantial damage to the engine and the left wing caused the aircraft to be written off. All 261 passengers and 12 crew survived.^[25]
• 14 April 2010: AeroUnion Flight 302, an A300B4-203F, crashed on a road 2 km short of the runway while attempting to land at Monterrey airport in Mexico. Seven people (five crew members and two on the ground) were killed.^[26]
• 25 August 2011: an A300B4-620 5A-IAY of Afriqiyah Airways and A300B4-622 5A-DLZ of Libyan Arab Airlines were both destroyed in fighting between pro- and anti-Gadaffi forces at Tripoli International Airport.^[27][28]
• 16 November 2012: A DHL Airbus A300 cargo aircraft bound for Bratislava crash-landed on its nose at 5:25 am at Bratislava airport M. R. S. (BTS) (Slovakia) after its front undercarriage failed. All three crew members survived.^[29]
• 14 August 2013: UPS Flight 1354, an Airbus A300F4-622R, crashed outside the perimeter fence on approach to Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Both crew members died.^[30]
• 12 October 2015: An Airbus A300B4-200F Freighter operated by Egyptian Tristar cargo carrier crashed in Mogadishu, Somalia. All the passengers and crew members survived the crash.^[31]

Aircraft on display

Airbus A300B4 repainted in first A300B1 prototype colours, including original F-WUAB registration.

Four A300s are currently preserved:

• F-BUAD Airbus A300 ZERO-G, since August 2015 preserved at Cologne Bonn Airport, Germany.
• ex-HL7219 Korean Air Airbus A300B4 preserved at Korean Air Cheju Museum.
• ex-N11984 Continental Airlines Airbus A300B4 preserved in South Korea as a Night Flight Restaurant.
• ex-PK-JIB Sempati Air Airbus A300B4 repainted in first A300B1 prototype colours, including original F-WUAB registration, became an exhibit in 2014 at the Aeroscopia museum in Blagnac, near Toulouse, France.^[32]

Deliveries

Data through end of December 2007.^[1]

Specifications

Sources:^[38][39]

Engines

See also

• Competition between Airbus and Boeing

Related development

• Airbus A310
• Airbus A330
• Airbus A340
• Airbus Beluga – modified A300-600

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Boeing 767
• Ilyushin Il-86
• Lockheed L-1011
• McDonnell Douglas DC-10

Related lists

• List of jet airliners

References

References

Bibliography

• Endres, Günter (Spring 2004). "Classic Airliner: Airbus A300". Flightpath: The International Journal of Commercial Aviation (Norwalk, Connecticut, USA: AIRtime Publishing) (Volume 3): 36–85. ISBN 1-880588-73-0. 
• Gunston, Bill (2009). Airbus: The Complete Story. Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset, UK: Haynes Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84425-585-6. 
• Hofton, Andy (10 October 1987). "Commercial Aircraft of the World". Flight International. Vol. 132 no. 4083. pp. 36–79. 
• Norris, Guy and Mark Wagner (1999). Airbus. Osceola, Wisconsin: MBI Publishing. ISBN 0-7603-0677-X. 
• Sweetman, Bill (4 September 1975). "Airbus Industrie spreads its wings". Flight International. Vol. 108 no. 3469. pp. 323–326. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Airbus A300.

• Official site
• Airbus A300 Production List
• A300 2-man crew modifications
• Certificated A300 variants worldwide