View source for Airbus A300

{|{{Infobox aircraft begin
| name = A300
| image = File:Libyan Arab Airbus A300 JPTA.jpg
| caption = Libyan Arab Airlines A300B4-600R taking-off from Malta International Airport in 2002
}}{{Infobox aircraft type
| type = Wide-body [[jet airliner]]
| national origin = Multi-national
| manufacturer = [[Airbus]]
| status = Out of production, in service
| first flight = 28 October 1972
| introduction = 30 May 1974 with [[Air France]]
| produced = 1974–2007
| primary user = [[FedEx Express]]
| more users = [[United Parcel Service|UPS Airlines]]<br>European Air Transport<br>Mahan Air<!-- this field is limited to three more users -->
| number built = 561<ref name="Airbus_Deliveries"/><ref name="planespotters"/>
| unit cost = 
| variants with their own articles = [[Airbus A310]]
| developed into = [[Airbus A310]]<br>[[Airbus A330]]<br>[[Airbus A340]]
}}
|}

The '''Airbus A300''' is a [[jet aircraft|jet]] [[airliner]] which was made by [[Airbus]]. Airbus Industries launched the plane in 1972, and it was the first plane with two engines to have more than one aisle between the seats (the first twin-engined wide-body aircraft). The A300 can hold 266 passengers in two classes. It can fly for a [[maximum]] of {{Convert|4070|nmi|km|lk=on}} when it is full, but this depends on the type of A300.

[[Air France]] was the first airline to get an A300. Air France began to use its A300s on 30 May 1974. Airbus stopped making A300s in July 2007. When Airbus stopped making A300s, it also stopped making [[Airbus A310|A310]]s. The [[Cargo aircraft|freighter]] version of the A300 has been replaced by the [[Airbus A330#A330-200F|A330-200F]].<ref name=fi_20060314>{{Cite web|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/airbus-aims-to-fill-freighter-void-with-a330-derivative-205407/|title=Airbus aims to fill freighter void with A330 derivative|publisher=[[Flight International]]|date=14 March 2006}}</ref>

==Development==
[[File:American Airlines Airbus A300-600 inbound to John F. Kennedy International Airport.jpg|thumb|left|An [[American Airlines]] A300B4-605R landing at [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]], New York]]
[[File:A300 Iran Air EP-IBT THR May 2010.jpg|thumb|[[Iran Air]] Airbus A300 landing at Mehrabad International Airport]]
[[File:lufthansa.a300b4-600r.d-aiay.arp.jpg|thumb|A [[Lufthansa]] A300B4-603 taking off from [[London Heathrow Airport]], England]]

In 1966, Frank Kolk, a member of [[American Airlines]], asked for a plane to replace the [[Boeing 727]]. He wanted a plane which could hold 250 to 300 passengers, with two engines. American plane makers made planes with three engines, like the [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10]] and the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, because the [[FAA]] had banned planes with two engines from flying on certain [[route]]s.

In September 1967, the British, French, and German governments agreed to begin designing the Airbus A300, which would have 300 seats.

After this agreement, both the French and British governments were worried about the plane. The plane needed a new type of engine from [[Rolls-Royce Motor Cars|Rolls-Royce]], the RB207.<ref name="Flight international1968">{{cite journal|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1968/1968%20-%200017.html|title=Aero Engines 1968: "Flight" special review|date=4 January 1968|journal=FLIGHT International|issue=3069|volume=93|pages=19–30}}</ref> In December 1968, the French and British companies (Sud Aviation and Hawker Siddeley) thought of a different design: the Airbus A250, which would have 250 seats. This design had its name changed to the A300B, and it did not need a new type of engine, which saved money. To get more U.S. airlines to buy the plane, American [[General Electric]] CF6-50 engines were used for the A300 instead of Rolls-Royce engines. The British government was upset and decided to stop supporting the A300. However, Hawker-Siddeley did not leave, and designed the wings for the A300.

In 1972, the A300 flew for the first time. The first type of A300 to be made, the A300B2, began to be used by airlines in 1974. The A300B4 began to be used one year later. At first, Airbus Industrie did not sell many planes. However, by 1979, 81 aircraft were being used. It was the [[Airbus A320 family|A320]] which made Airbus the very big company that it is today.

Parts of the A300 were made by many different companies from all over Europe. These were taken to Toulouse-Blagnac by some Aero Spacelines Super Guppy aircraft so that the parts could all be put together to make the plane. This method turned out to be much better than simply building the aircraft in one place. 

==Design==
[[File:Airbus A300 cross section.jpg|thumb|Airbus A300 fuselage in the [[Deutsches Museum]] in [[Munich]], Germany]]
[[Image:mahan air a300b4-600 ep-mnr lands birmingham arp.jpg|thumb| Mahan Air Airbus A300B4-600 landing at Birmingham International Airport, [[England]]]]

Some of the technology used for the Airbus A300 was taken from [[Concorde]]. When it began being used in 1974, the A300 was an advanced plane. Some advanced features were:
* [[File:UPS Airlines Airbus A300 LDS.jpg|thumb|UPS A300]]Advanced wings by [[de Havilland]]
* Some parts made from metal billets, which saved weight
* [[Wind shear]] protection
* Autopilots which could fly the plane all the way from takeoff to landing.

A300s made later have other features, like:
* A glass cockpit
* The ability to move fuel around, which changes the plane's [[centre of gravity]]
* Wingtip fences (first used on the [[Airbus A310|A310-300]]).

==History==
[[File:Air France Airbus A300B2 1974 Fitzgerald.jpg|thumb|[[Air France]] A300B2 at Farnborough Airshow in 1974]]
The A300 did not sell very well at first. Most of the orders were from airlines of countries which made up Airbus Industrie, like Air France and [[Lufthansa]].

In 1974, [[Korean Air]] ordered 4 A300s. This made it the first airline outside of Europe to order an Airbus Industrie plane. Airbus Industrie thought that South-East-Asia was a good place to sell planes. It also thought that Korean Air was the 'key' to selling planes in that area.<ref name="Champagne... and Drought">[http://www.airbus.com/company/history/the-narrative/champagneand-drought-1973-1977/ Champagne... and drought] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401100121/http://www.airbus.com/company/history/the-narrative/champagneand-drought-1973-1977/ |date=2015-04-01 }}, The story of Airbus from its inception to today.</ref>

Airlines which used the A300 to fly on short flights needed to have fewer flights so that the aircraft could be filled, so these airlines lost customers to other airlines which used smaller aircraft and had flights more often. Eventually, Airbus had to make the A320 to rival the [[Boeing]] [[Boeing 737|737]] and [[McDonnell Douglas]] [[McDonnell Douglas DC-9|DC-9]]/[[McDonnell Douglas MD-90|MD-80]].

In 1977, [[Eastern Air Lines]] [[lease]]d four A300s. [[Frank Borman]], who was the CEO of Eastern, was happy that the A300 used much less fuel than the planes the airline already had. He ordered 23 A300s. After this, [[Pan American World Airways|Pan Am]] also ordered some A300s. From then on, many A300s were sold, and 878 planes were given to airlines.<ref name="Airbus_Deliveries"/><ref name="planespotters">{{cite web|url=http://www.planespotters.net/Production_List/Airbus/A300/index.php?p=6|title=Airbus A300 Production List|access-date=15 November 2012|publisher=planespotters.net|archive-date=11 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611081721/http://www.planespotters.net/Production_List/Airbus/A300/index.php?p=6|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:M4H00496.theora.ogv|thumb|China Eastern Airlines A300B4-600R cabin during a flight]]

The body of the A300 was made longer (on the [[Airbus A330|A330]] and [[Airbus A340|A340]]), shorter (on the A310), or was changed (for the A300-600ST ''Beluga'' Super Transporter).

In March 2006, Airbus said that it was no longer making the A300/A310.<ref>{{Cite news | title = A300/A310 Final Assembly to be completed by July 2007 | publisher = Airbus | date = 7 March 2006 | url = http://www.airbus.com/en/presscentre/pressreleases/pressreleases_items/07_03_06_A300_final_assembly.html | access-date = 13 June 2013 | archive-date = 7 October 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081007110156/http://www.airbus.com/en/presscentre/pressreleases/pressreleases_items/07_03_06_A300_final_assembly.html | url-status = dead }}</ref> The last A300 first flew on 18 April 2007.<ref>{{Cite news | title = The last A300 makes its maiden flight | publisher = Airbus | date = 18 April 2007 | url = http://www.airbus.com/en/myairbus/newsbrief/index.jsp | access-date = 13 June 2013 | archive-date = 13 May 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070513035737/http://www.airbus.com/en/myairbus/newsbrief/index.jsp | url-status = dead }}</ref> It was delivered to [[FedEx]] on 12 July 2007.

==Different types of Airbus A300==
[[File:A300 Zero G.jpg|thumb|The ZERO-G A300 at Cologne Bonn Airport, Germany.]]
[[File:Singapore Airlines Airbus A300 Fitzgerald.jpg|thumb|Airbus A300B4-200 of [[Singapore Airlines]] at the Farnborough Airshow in 1980.]]

===A300B1===
Only two of these were built: the [[prototype]], and a second aircraft. It can hold 300 passengers or 323 passengers, and it has two [[General Electric|General Electric CF6-50A]] engines.

===A300B2===
The first version to be made for airlines. It had General Electric CF6 or Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines. Air France was the first airline to use it, in May 1974.

===A300B4===
The version which was made the most. The first A300B4 made its first flight on 25 December 1974. Germanair got the first one on 23 May 1975.

===A300-600===
This type's official name is the A300B4-600. It has more powerful [[General Electric|CF6-80]] or Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines, and it has the Honeywell 331-250 auxiliary power unit (APU).<ref name=hw>{{Cite web|title=Honeywell 331-250 APU|url=http://www.honeywell.com/sites/portal?smap=aerospace&page=Power_Systems3&theme=T5&catID=CB6099334-14AB-C264-AB94-8E47224CA642&id=H544A09A8-A70B-FA73-F93C-6AEFB3D0FB6D&sel=4|access-date=18 March 2011|archive-date=20 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320002847/http://www.honeywell.com/sites/portal?smap=aerospace&page=Power_Systems3&theme=T5&catID=CB6099334-14AB-C264-AB94-8E47224CA642&id=H544A09A8-A70B-FA73-F93C-6AEFB3D0FB6D&sel=4|url-status=dead}}</ref> The A300-600 began being used in 1983 by [[Saudi Arabian Airlines]] The A300-600 also has a different cockpit (similar to the A310), so the flight engineer was not needed for this type.

===A300B10 (A310)===
{{Main|Airbus A310}}
This type is shorter and does not need a flight engineer. 
It can also be used as a military plane. It is currently being used by the [[Canadian Forces]] and German Air Force. 260 of these planes were sold, but five of these were never made.

==Accidents==

As of 2010, the A300 has had 54 accidents. There have been 26 hull-losses. 1,434 people have died on A300s.<ref name="asna300">{{cite web |title=Airbus A300 |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/type/type.php?type=020 |publisher=Aviation Safety Network |date=3 July 2010 |access-date=3 July 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100717035428/http://aviation-safety.net/database/type/type.php?type=020| archive-date= 17 July 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>  A hull-loss accident is an accident where the plane is completely destroyed, or if it is damaged so much that it cannot be fixed.

==Aircraft still flying==
As of July 2020, there are more than 200 A300s still flying.

==Details==
{|
|----- bgcolor="DDDD"
!Measurement
!A300B4
!A300-600R
!A300-600F
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
|Length || colspan="1" align="center" | {{convert|53.62|m|ft}} || colspan="2" align="center" | {{convert|54.08|m|ft}}
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
|[[Wingspan]] || colspan="1" align="center" | {{convert|44.84|m|ft}} || colspan="2" align="center" | {{convert|44.85|m|ft}} (with wing fences)
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
|Height || colspan="3" align="center" | {{convert|16.62|m|ft}}
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
|Width || colspan="3" align="center" | {{convert|5.28|m|ft}}
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
|Cruising speed || colspan="3" align="center" | mach 0.78 (833&nbsp;km/h, 518&nbsp;mph, 450 knots at 35,000&nbsp;ft)
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
|Maximum speed || align="center" | mach 0.86 <ref>{{Cite news | title = A300 TYPE CERTIFICATE DATA SHEET No. A35EU | publisher = FAA | date = 2010-05-28 | url = http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_library/rgMakeModel.nsf/0/9f9e2c573ea4e10e8625773b0058b494/$FILE/A35EU%20Rev%2025.pdf | access-date = 2013-06-13 | archive-date = 2016-12-24 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161224194207/http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgMakeModel.nsf/0/9f9e2c573ea4e10e8625773b0058b494/$FILE/A35EU%20Rev%2025.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref> || colspan="2" align="center" | mach 0.82 (876&nbsp;km/h, 544&nbsp;mph, 473 knots at 35,000&nbsp;ft)
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
|Engines || align="center" | [[General Electric|CF6-50C2]] or JT9D-59A || colspan="2" align="center" | CF6-80C2 or PW4158
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
|Cockpit crew || align="center" | Three || colspan="2" align="center" | Two
|}
Sources:<ref>[http://www.airliners.net/aircraft-data/ Aircraft Technical Data & Specifications] Airliners.net</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.civilaviation.eu/type/airliners.htm |title=Civil Aviation: Airliners |access-date=2013-06-13 |archive-date=2016-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326032947/http://www.civilaviation.eu/type/airliners.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Engines===
{| class=wikitable style="text-align: center;"
|-
! Model !! Date !! Engines
|-
|A300B2-1A || 1974 || General Electric CF6-50A
|-
|A300B2-1C || 1975 || General Electric CF6-50C
|-
|A300B2K-3C || 1976 || General Electric CF6-50CR
|-
|A300B4-2C || 1976 || General Electric CF6-50C
|-
|A300B4-103 || 1979 || General Electric CF6-50C2
|-
|A300B4-120 || 1979 || Pratt & Whitney JT9D-59A
|-
|A300B2-203 || 1980 || General Electric CF6-50C2
|-
|A300B4-203 || 1981 || General Electric CF6-50C2
|-
|A300B4-220 || 1981 || Pratt & Whitney JT9D-59A
|-
|A300B4-601 || 1988 || General Electric CF6-80C2A1
|-
|A300B4-603 || 1988 || General Electric CF6-80C2A3
|-
|A300B4-620 || 1983 || Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4H1
|-
|A300B4-622 || 2003 || Pratt & Whitney PW4158
|-
|A300B4-605R || 1988 || General Electric CF6-80C2A5
|-
|A300B4-622R || 1991 || Pratt & Whitney PW4158
|-
|A300F4-605R || 1994 || General Electric CF6-80C2A5 or 2A5F
|-
|A300F4-622R || 2000 || Pratt & Whitney PW4158
|-
|A300C4-605R || 2002 ||
|}
[[File:Eastern Airlines A300 (6146169982).jpg|thumb|Eastern Air Lines A300 at Miami International Airport]]

==Deliveries==
{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:right; font-size:96%"
|-
! !!Total!!2007!!2006!!2005!!2004!!2003!!2002!!2001!!2000!!1999!!1998!!1997!!1996!!1995!!1994!!1993!!1992!!1991
|-
!Deliveries
|561||6||9||9||12||8||9||11||8||8||13||6||14||17||23||22||22||25
|}
{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:right; font-size:96%"
|-
! !!1990!!1989!!1988!!1987!!1986!!1985!!1984!!1983!!1982!!1981!!1980!!1979!!1978!!1977!!1976!!1975!!1974
|-
!Deliveries
|19||24||17||11||10||16||19||19||46||38||39||26||15||15||13||8||4
|}
<small>''Data until the end of December 2007.''</small><ref name="Airbus_Deliveries">{{cite web |url=http://www.airbus.com/store/mm_repository/pdf/att00011494/media_object_file_Historical_OD_74_07.xls |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221090847/http://www.airbus.com/store/mm_repository/pdf/att00011494/media_object_file_Historical_OD_74_07.xls |archive-date=2008-12-21 |title = Airbus - Historical Orders and Deliveries |work=[[Airbus|Airbus S.A.S.]] |date=January 2008 |format=Microsoft Excel |access-date=10 December 2012}}</ref>

==Related pages==
{{aircontent
|related=
* [[Airbus A310]]
* [[Airbus A330]]
* [[Airbus A340]]
|similar aircraft=
* [[Boeing 767]]
* [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10]]
|lists=
}}

==References==
;References
{{reflist}}

;Bibliography
* {{Cite book|last=Gunston|first=Bill|title=Airbus: The Complete Story|url=https://archive.org/details/airbuscompletest0000guns|year=2009|location=Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset, UK|publisher=Haynes Publishing|isbn=978-1-84425-585-6}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Norris|first1=Guy and Mark Wagner|title=Airbus|url=https://archive.org/details/airbus0000norr|location=Osceola, Wisconsin|publisher=MBI Publishing|year=1999|isbn=0-7603-0677-X|ref={{harvid|Norris|Wagner|1999}}}}

==Other websites==
{{Commons|Airbus A300}}
* [http://www.airbus.com/en/aircraftfamilies/a300a310/ Official site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420035335/http://www.airbus.com/en/aircraftfamilies/a300a310 |date=2010-04-20 }}

{{Airbus aircraft}}

[[Category:Airbus aircraft|A300]]