Airbus A300

The Airbus A300 aircraft was the first wide-bodied twin-engined aircraft in the world.

It was launched into the market in 1972 with purchases from Air France and Lufthansa and then ceased production in July 2007.

In total over 560 A300 aircraft have been sold worldwide and some are currently being sold second hand and converted to cargo jets.

Both the A300 and the A310 are the first Airbus aircraft to have reached final production.

The advanced technology of the A300, some of which had been used in the making of the Concorde, was the reason the A300 ever really took off.

Some of this technology came in the form of:-

* Advanced wing design by de Havilland.

* A larger diameter fuselage of 222 inches which would allow 8 passengers sitting abreast of each other and two cargo containers side-by-side.

* The first aircraft to have wind shear protection.

* Autopilots that could fly the aircraft from climb out to landing.

* Electronically controlled braking.

* Glass cockpit flight instruments i.e electronic instrument displays rather than mechanical gauges.

* The ability to move fuel around the aircraft to improve the aircraft's center of gravity.

* The first airliner to use wingtip fences to improve aerodynamics and fuel economy.

Airline companies flying the A300

Some of the airline companies who have purchased and flown the Airbus A300 are -

Eastern Air Lines
Pan Am
Garuda Indonesia
Philippine Airlines
Indian Airlines
Singapore Airlines
Japan Air System
Thai Airways International
Malaysia Airlines
Trans Australia Airlines

The last of the A300 aircraft was delivered on 12 July 2007 to freighting company FedEx.

Airbus will continue to support the A300 until 2025.

A300 Airbus Seating

The seating arrangements in the Airbus A300 are:-

First Class: The seating chart is in a 2 - 2 - 2 format.
Economy Class: The seating chart is in a 2 - 4 - 2 format.

How to Charter an A300 Airbus

Needing to charter an aircraft for a private or business function?

Clicking here locates an Airbus A300 which could very well be perfect for your requirements.

The A300-600ST - Beluga

Have you ever seen such an aircraft as the A300-600ST Beluga?

Makes you wonder how it flies?

This is the aircraft that Airbus created to transport completely made airplane sections to either Toulouse (France) or Hamburg (Germany) for final assembly.

Usually the wings and landing gear are made in the UK, Spain make the tail and doors, Germany makes the fuselage and France makes the nose and mid section.

These are loaded on to the Beluga for final assembly.

The dimensions of the freight compartment are:-

diameter 7.4 meters

37.7 meters long and

maximum payload of 47 tons.

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