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Airbus A300 – Truly an Iconic Aircraft

Garth Calitz
Apr 25
10 min read

By Rob Russell

The Airbus A300 was Airbus's first production aircraft and the world's first twin-engine, double-aisle (wide-body) airliner. Airbus Industrie GIE developed it, now merged into Airbus SE, and manufactured it from 1971 to 2007. The success of Airbus and its future models, and indeed the Company, owe much to the success of this aircraft and the vision and determination of Henri Ziegler. During the mid-1960s, both Air France and American Airlines had expressed interest in a short-haul twin-engine wide-body aircraft, indicating a market demand for such an aircraft to be produced.

In July 1967, during a high-profile meeting between French, German, and British ministers, an agreement was made for greater cooperation between European nations in the field of aviation technology, and "for the joint development and production of an Airbus". On 26 September 1967, the French, West German and British governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding to start the development of the 300-seat Airbus A300. The proposed range of the aircraft was up to 2000nm, ideally to suit short and medium range flights, capable of carrying up to 300 passengers in a two-aisle high-density seating capacity. In December 1968, the French and British partner companies (Sud Aviation and Hawker Siddeley) proposed a revised configuration, the 250-seat Airbus A250.

Shortly after the July 1967 meeting, French engineer Roger Béteille was appointed as the technical director of what would become the A300 programme, while Henri Ziegler, who was then the chief operating office of Sud Aviation, was appointed as the general manager of the organisation and German politician Franz Josef Strauss became the chairman of the supervisory board. Henri Ziegler was to become a key figure in the success of Airbus Industry and played a major role in the development of not only the A300, but many other Airbus models. Franz Strauss, being a politician, he was the Premier of the state of Bavaria, the economic heartland of Germany, was also to play a huge role in the promotion of Airbus around the world and his political links were vital in the selling of many Airbus aircraft.

On 18 December 1970, Airbus Industrie was formally established following an agreement between Aérospatiale (the newly merged Sud Aviation and Nord Aviation) of France and the antecedents to Deutsche Aerospace of Germany, each receiving a 50% stake in the newly formed company.

In 1971, the consortium was joined by a third full partner, the Spanish firm CASA, which received a 4.2% stake, the other two members reducing their stakes to 47.9% each. In 1979, Britain joined the Airbus consortium via British Aerospace, which Hawker Siddeley had merged into, and acquired a 20% stake in Airbus Industrie with France and Germany.

Béteille drew up an initial work share plan for the project, under which French firms would produce the aircraft's cockpit, the control systems, and a lower-centre portion of the fuselage, Hawker Siddeley would manufacture the wings, while German companies would produce the forward, rear and upper part of the centre fuselage sections. Additional work included moving elements of the wings being produced in the Netherlands and Spain, producing the horizontal tail plane.

An early design goal for the A300 that Béteille had stressed the importance of was the incorporation of a high level of technology, which would serve as a decisive advantage over prospective competitors. For this reason, the A300 would feature the first use of composite materials of any passenger aircraft, the leading and trailing edges of the tail fin being composed of glass fibre reinforced plastic. Béteille opted for English as the working language for the developing aircraft, as well as against using Metric instrumentation and measurements, as most airlines already had US-built aircraft.

On 29 May 1969, during the Paris Air Show, French transport minister Jean Chamant and German economics minister Karl Schiller signed an agreement officially launching the Airbus A300, the world's first twin-engine widebody airliner. The intention of the project was to produce an aircraft that was smaller, lighter, and more economical than its three-engine American rivals. On 3 September 1970, Air France signed a letter of intent for six A300's, marking the first order to be won for the new airliner.

In the aftermath of the Paris Air Show agreement, it was decided that, to provide effective management of responsibilities, a Groupement d'intérêt économique would be established, allowing the various partners to work together on the project while remaining separate business entities. The A300 was the second major joint aircraft programme in Europe, the first being the Anglo-French Concorde. Under the terms of the memorandum, the French and British were to each receive a 37.5% work share on the project, while the West Germans would receive a 25% share. Sud Aviation was recognised as the lead contractor for the A300, with Hawker Siddeley being selected as the British partner company.

Airbus Industrie was initially headquartered in Paris, which is where design, development, flight testing, sales, marketing, and customer support activities were centred; the headquarters was relocated to Toulouse in January 1974. The final assembly line for the A300 was located adjacent to Toulouse Blagnac International Airport. The manufacturing process necessitated transporting each aircraft section being produced by the partner companies scattered across Europe to this one location. The combined use of ferries and roads was used for the assembly of the first A300, however, this was time-consuming and not viewed as ideal by Felix Kracht, Airbus Industrie's production director.

Kracht's solution was to have the various A300 sections brought to Toulouse by a fleet of Boeing 377-derived Aero Spacelines Super Guppy aircraft, which meant that none of the manufacturing sites were more than two hours away from Toulouse. Having the sections airlifted in this manner made the A300 the first airliner to use just-in-time manufacturing techniques and allowed each company to manufacture its sections as fully equipped, ready-to-fly assemblies.

In September 1969, construction of the prototype A300 began. On 28 September 1972, this prototype was unveiled to the public. It went on to conduct its maiden flight from Toulouse–Blagnac International Airport on 28 October that year. This flight, which was performed a month ahead of schedule, lasted for one hour and 25 minutes; the captain was Max Fischl and the first officer was Bernard Ziegler, son of Henri Ziegler.

In September 1973, as part of promotional efforts for the A300, the new aircraft was taken on a six-week tour around North America and South America to demonstrate it to airline executives, pilots, and would-be customers. Amongst the consequences of this expedition, it brought the A300 to the attention of Frank Borman, the CEO of Eastern Airlines, one of the "big four" U.S. airlines.

The A300 is powered by a pair of underwing turbofan engines, either General Electric CF6 or Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines; the sole use of underwing engine pods allowed for any suitable turbofan engine to be more readily used. The lack of a third tail-mounted engine, as per the trijet configuration used by some competing airliners, allowed for the wings to be located further forward and to reduce the size of the vertical stabiliser and elevator, which had the effect of increasing the aircraft's flight performance and fuel efficiency.

Airbus partners had employed the latest technology, some of which had been derived from Concorde, on the A300. According to Airbus, new technologies adopted for the airliner were selected principally for increased safety, operational capability, and profitability. Upon entry into service in 1974, the A300 was a very advanced plane, which went on to influence later airliner designs. The technological highlights include advanced wings by de Havilland (later BAE Systems), with supercritical airfoil sections for economical performance and advanced aerodynamically efficient flight control surfaces. The 5.64 m diameter circular fuselage section allows an eight-abreast passenger seating and is wide enough for 2 LD3 cargo containers side by side. Structures are made from metal billets, reducing weight. It is the first airliner to be fitted with wind shear protection. Its advanced autopilots are capable of flying the aircraft from climb-out to landing, and it has an electrically controlled braking system.

On 15 March 1974, type certificates were granted for the A300 from both German and French authorities, clearing the way for its entry into revenue service. On 23 May 1974, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification was received. The first production model, the A300B2, entered service in 1974, followed by the A300B4 one year later.

On 23 May 1974, the first A300 to enter service performed the first commercial flight of the type, flying from Paris to London, for Air France. Immediately after the launch, sales of the A300 were weak for some years, with most orders going to airlines that had an obligation to favour the domestically made product, notably Air France and Lufthansa, the first two airlines to place orders for the type. Following the appointment of Bernard Lathière as Henri Ziegler's replacement, an aggressive sales approach was adopted. Indian Airlines was the first Asian airline to purchase the A300, ordering three aircraft with three options.

1974 was a significant year for Airbus Industrie. This saw the placing, by SAA, of an order for 4 A300s. It was an important order, as due to the United Nations Sanctions about to come into effect, on the then SA Government, as well as the UN arms embargo, it was feared that SAA would not be able to order any aircraft. However, with the vision of Henri Ziegler and the powerful influence of Franz-Josef Strauss, the then Premier of Bavaria, Airbus was able to secure this order. Apart from being the first order from a Southern Hemisphere airline, it was also important as SAA was still a significant role player, and still a very respected airline, in the air transport business - it playing a leading role in the development of many Boeing 747s models, for SAA to fly long distance flights safely.

Due to SAA operating from many high-elevation airfields, there was a need to develop a wing with slats on it. This was done by Airbus and they were known as the Krueger flaps. SAA models were known as the A300B2K. SAA was to use the Airbus primarily on the Johannesburg to Cape Town and Durban routes, as a short-range high-capacity aircraft, carrying both passengers and utilising the large storage areas, under the main floor, to carry freight. SAA was to go on and order 5 upgraded A300B4s, which incorporated the Krueger flaps as standard and also improved performance and technology over the B2K models.

However, between December 1975 and May 1977, there were no sales for the A300 and some "whitetail" A300s – completed but unsold aircraft – were completed and stored at Toulouse, and production fell to half an aircraft per month amid calls to pause production completely. But the Airbus executives were not giving up and believed there was a market for the product.

In 1977, US carrier Eastern Air Lines leased four A300s as an in-service trial. CEO Frank Borman was impressed that the A300 consumed 30% less fuel, even less than expected, than Eastern's fleet of L-1011s. The A300 would replace the ageing DC-9s and 727-100s but in smaller numbers, while being a twinjet sized between the Tristars and 727-200s, and capable of operating from short runway airports with sufficient range from New York City to Miami. Borman proceeded to order 23 A300s, becoming the first U.S. customer for 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.

The success of the A300 meant American producers were forced to change their philosophies and approach to wide-body jet operations. These producers were focusing on three and four-engined aircraft – their main reasoning being the need to operate with at least three engines over water on long-range flights. Boeing was to respond to the A300 by developing the Boeing 767 model and when Airbus announced the A310, Boeing answered by developing the B757. However, Airbus were way ahead of Boeing when it came to 2 engined operations and they soon announced plans to upgrade and replace the A300 with the A330. This model also proved to be a stunning success when it was built and delivered. The Boeing response was to develop the B787 and whilst this has also been a stunning success in its own right and a world leader in many aspects, the A330 remains in a class of its own.

Later A300s incorporated other advanced features such as the Forward-Facing Crew Cockpit (FFCC), which enabled a two-pilot flight crew to fly the aircraft alone without the need for a flight engineer, the functions of which were automated; this two-man cockpit concept was a world-first for a wide-body aircraft. Glass cockpit flight instrumentation, which used cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitors to display flight, navigation, and warning information, along with fully digital dual autopilots and digital flight control computers for controlling the spoilers, flaps, and leading-edge slats, were also adopted upon later-built models. Additional composites were also made use of, such as carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP), as well as their presence in an increasing proportion of the aircraft's components, including the spoilers, rudder, air brakes, and landing gear doors. Another feature of later aircraft was the addition of wingtip fences, which improved aerodynamic performance and thus reduced cruise fuel consumption by about 1.5% for the A300-600.

In 1977, the A300B4 became the first ETOPS-compliant aircraft, qualifying for Extended Twin Engine Operations over water, providing operators with more versatility in routing. In 1982, Garuda Indonesian Airways became the first airline to fly the A300B4-200FFCC with the newly introduced Forward-Facing Crew Cockpit concept, the world's first wide-body aircraft that only operated by a two-man cockpit crew.

In addition to passenger duties, the A300 became widely used by air freight operators; according to Airbus, it is the best-selling freight aircraft of all time. Various variants of the A300 were built to meet customer demands, often for diverse roles such as aerial refuelling tankers, freighter models (new-build and conversions), combi aircraft, military airlifter – the A310, a smaller development of the A300 was used as a refuelling aircraft by the German Air Force and based on this experience gained, the highly successful A330 MRTT was developed, built and delivered. Some A300s were used by Governments and Air Forces for VIP transport. Perhaps the most visually unique of the variants is the A300-600ST Beluga, an oversized cargo-carrying model operated by Airbus to carry aircraft sections between their manufacturing facilities. The A300 was the basis for, and retained a high level of commonality with, the second airliner produced by Airbus, the smaller Airbus A310.

By the 1990s, the A300 was being heavily promoted as a cargo freighter. The largest freight operator of the A300 is FedEx Express, which has 70 A300 aircraft in service as of September 2022. UPS Airlines also operates 52 freighter versions of the A300. The life of UPS's fleet of 52 A300s, delivered from 2000 to 2006, will be extended to 2035 by a flight deck upgrade based around Honeywell Primus Epic avionics; new displays and flight management system (FMS), improved weather radar, a central maintenance system, and a new version of the current enhanced ground proximity warning system.

The final version was the A300-600R and is rated for 180-minute ETOPS. In March 2006, Airbus announced the impending closure of the A300/A310 final assembly line, making them the first Airbus aircraft to be discontinued. The final production A300, an A300F freighter, performed its initial flight on 18 April 2007 and was delivered to FedEx Express on 12 July 2007.

Thanks to the vision of Henri Ziegler, the success of the original A300, Airbus was able to build on this model and develop a range of models and variants, making it one of the leading aircraft manufacturers today. It has developed a range of narrow-body and wide-body jets and is constantly improving its production models, incorporating the latest technology available, enabling Airbus to deliver aircraft to airlines, compliant with the needs and constantly changing demands of their customers.