Airbus A310

"A310" redirects here. For other uses, see A310 (disambiguation).

A310
An A310, gear and flaps extended, from Air Transat, one of its largest operators
Role	Wide-body jet airliner
National origin	Multinational
Manufacturer	Airbus
First flight	3 April 1982
Introduction	April 1983 with Swissair
Status	In limited service
Primary users	Mahan Air Air Transat Yemenia Iran Air
Produced	1983–1998
Number built	255
Developed from	Airbus A300
Variants	Airbus A310 MRTT Airbus CC-150 Polaris

The Airbus A310 is a medium- to long-range twin-engined wide-body jet airliner that was developed and manufactured by Airbus, then a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers. It was the second airliner to be produced by the company, the first being the A300. The A310 is a smaller derivative of the A300, which held the distinction of being the first twin-engined widebody airliner.

The origin of the A310 lies within design studies originally conducted for the earlier A300 program, specifically the smaller A300B10MC (standing for Minimum Change) design. During the flight testing stage of the A300 program, a number of airlines approached Airbus, expressing that there was also a sizable market for a smaller aircraft, leading to the company commencing studies on producing a separate airliner to produce such an aircraft. The design settled on for the tentative airliner, later designated as the A310, was essentially a fuselage shrink of the A300, furnished with a new wing and a lighter landing gear configuration to suit the smaller scale of the aircraft. It shared a very high level of commonality with the A300, particularly in terms of the cockpit and subsystems. These similarities enabled both aircraft to be manufactured upon the same production line.

On 7 July 1978, Airbus decided to launch the A300B10 program, which it had re-designated as the A310. Initially, the company planned to produce two distinct versions of the A310, these being the regional A310-100 and the transcontinental A310-200, the former being unsuccessful due to lack of demand, with the latter being capable of longer-range flights. On 3 April 1982, the first prototype A310 conducted the type's maiden flight. In April 1983, the A310 entered revenue service with launch customer Swissair. From an operational perspective, the cockpit of the A310 and the A300-600 share such commonality that a dual type rating could be achieved, easing the training of flight crews for both airliners. It was produced between 1983 and 1998, having been effectively succeeded by the Airbus A330, a newer wide-body aircraft.

Development

Background

The A310 (background) is a shrink of the Airbus A300 (foreground)

On 26 September 1967, the British, French, and West German governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding to commence the joint development of the 300-seat Airbus A300. This collaborative effort resulted in the production of the consortium's first airliner, known as the Airbus A300. The A300 was a wide-body medium-to-long range passenger liner; it holds the distinction of being the first twin-engine wide-body aircraft in the world. The design was relatively revolutionary for its time and featured a number of industry firsts, making the first use of composite materials on a commercial aircraft; during 1977, the A300 became the first ETOPS-compliant aircraft, which was made possible due to its high performance and safety standards. The A300 would be produced in a range of models and sold relatively well to airlines across the world, eventually reaching a total of 816 delivered aircraft during its production life.

During the development of the earlier A300, a range of different aircraft size and capacity were studied by the consortium; the resulting Airbus A300B proposal was one of the smaller options. When the A300B1 prototypes emerged, a number of airlines issued requests for an aircraft with greater capacity, which resulted in the initial production A300B2 version. As the A300 entered service, it became increasingly apparent that there was also a sizable market for a smaller aircraft; some operators did not have enough traffic to justify the relatively large A300, while others wanted more frequency or lower aircraft-mile costs at the expense of higher seat-mile cost (specifically Swissair and Lufthansa). At the same time, there was great pressure for Airbus to validate itself beyond the design and manufacture of a single airliner. In response to these desires, Airbus explored the options for producing a smaller derivative of the A300B2.

"We showed the world we were not sitting on a nine-day wonder, and that we wanted to realise a family of planes…we won over customers we wouldn’t otherwise have won...now we had two planes that had a great deal in common as far as systems and cockpits were concerned."

Jean Roeder, chief engineer of Deutsche Airbus, speaking of the A310

In order to minimise the associated research & development costs for the tentative project, Airbus chose to examine several early design studies performed during the A300 program. The company ultimately chose to prioritise its focus on one option, which became known as the A300B10MC (standing for Minimum Change). As envisioned, the airliner's capacity was reduced to a maximum of 220 passengers, which was viewed at the time as being a desired capacity amongst many airlines. However, such a design would have resulted in a relatively small fuselage being mated to a comparatively large wing and oversized undercarriage; such an arrangement would have, amongst other things, made the aircraft consume an unnecessarily larger amount of fuel as it carried heavier weight than what was otherwise required.

Another problem for the program was presented in the form of inflation, the rate of which in the United Kingdom (one of the early members of the Airbus consortium) was around 35 per cent during 1979–80. This factor was responsible for significantly raising the program's development costs and, as a knock-on effect, increase the per-unit cost of the resulting airliner. During the development of the A300, British manufacturer Hawker Siddeley Aviation (HSA) had been appointed as the subcontractor to perform the manufacturing of the wing of the aircraft; shortly afterwards, the British government chose to withdraw from the newly formed venture during 1969. During 1977, HSA subsequently merged with three other British aircraft companies, resulting in the formation of British Aerospace (BAe). By this point, the British government had publicly indicated its intentions to rejoin the Airbus program. During May 1976, the French government entered into a series of discussions on cooperation, during which its representatives stated that the placing of an order by British Airways (BA) was a condition for the re-admission of the United Kingdom into Airbus Industrie as a full partner.

However, both BA and Rolls-Royce had not relinquished their will to collaborate with the Americans in future aircraft endeavours and, in BA's case, procure American aircraft. During the late 1970s, BA sought to purchase two separate types of aircraft in development by American company Boeing, initially known as the 7N7 and 7X7, which would develop into the 757 and 767, the latter of which being an intended rival to the upcoming A310, as well as the existing Boeing 747. Independent of the British government, BAe commenced its own dialogue between itself and American aircraft manufacturers Boeing and McDonnell Douglas for the purpose of assessing if BAe could participate any of their future programs, although the company's chairman, Lord Beswick, publicly stated that the overall aim of the firm was to pursue collaboration in Europe. At the 1978 Farnborough Air Show, Eric Varley, the British Secretary of State for Industry, announced that BAe was to rejoin Airbus Industrie and participate as a full partner from 1 January 1979 onwards. Under the negotiated arrangement, BAe would be allocated a 20 per cent shareholding in Airbus Industrie and would perform "a full part in the development and manufacturing of the A310".

Design effort

The A310-200 prototype, featuring the liveries of Swissair (left) and Lufthansa (right), the first customers.

From late 1977, prior to the Varley announcement, BAe had already commenced work on the design of the new wing at its facility in Hatfield. However, due to negotiations with Britain on its return to the Airbus consortium being protracted, alternative options were explored, including potentially manufacturing the wing elsewhere. At the same time as the British efforts, French aerospace firm Aérospatiale, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) and Dutch-German joint venture company VFW-Fokker were also conducting their individual studies into possible options for the wing of the prospective airliner.

At the April 1978 Hanover Air Show, Airbus exhibited a model of the proposed A310. Its wing area, at 219.25 m² (2,360.0 sq ft) was slightly larger than that studied, at 209 m² (2,250 sq ft); its passenger cabin was 12 frames shorter than the A300,^{Note 2} accommodating typical passenger loads of 195 in two-class, or 245 in economy. However, during the next 12 months, almost every aspect was further refined. On 9 June 1978, Swissair and Lufthansa developed a joint specification for the aircraft, and within a month, announced that they would place the launch orders. On 15 March, Swissair became the first airline to place a firm order for the type, announcing that it would acquire 10 with a further 10 under option to replace its McDonnell Douglas DC-9s on its major intra-European routes. Lufthansa was quick to place a $240 million 10-aircraft order; additional orders from French operator Air France and Spanish airline Iberia shortly followed.

As a consequence of increasingly strong interest in the tentative airliner, coupled with the recovery of the industry during the late 1970s, contributed to Airbus deciding to launch the A300B10, which was now known as the A310, into production on 7 July 1978. During the latter half of 1978, an order for 10 A300s was placed by independent British airline Laker Airways, satisfying Airbus's demand for the placing of a British order for their aircraft. On 1 April 1979, Lufthansa decided to raise its commitment for the type to 25 orders, along with 25 options. Two days later, Dutch operator KLM signed its order for 10 orders and 10 options at £238 million. On 6 July 1979, Air France announced that it had raised its order from 4 to 35 airliners. Other airlines announcing orders for the A310 during 1979 included Martinair, Sabena and Air Afrique.

Initially, a pair of distinct versions of the A310 had been planned by Airbus; the regional A310-100 and the transcontinental A310-200. The A310-100 featured a range of 2,000 nmi (3,700 km) with 200 passengers, whilst the A310-200 possessed a higher MTOW and centre section fuel, being able to carry the same load a further 1,000 nmi (1,900 km). Basic engines offered for the type included the General Electric CF6-45B2 and Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4. At one point, British engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce was openly considering offering an engine for the A310, the Rolls-Royce RB.207, however, it ultimately chose to discard such efforts in favour of a smaller three-spool design, the RB.211.

Production

Maiden flight of the Airbus A310, 3 April 1982

In 1988, an A310 was delivered to Interflug: the first Airbus for an Eastern-bloc airline.

The range of the A310 exceeds that of the A300 series with the exception of the A300-600R, which in turn surpasses that of the A310-200. The greater range of the A310 contributed to the airliner being used extensively by operators on transatlantic routes. The A300 and A310 introduced the concept of commonality: A300-600 and A310 pilots can cross-qualify for the other aircraft with one day of training.

Sales of the A310 continued through the early 1980s. On 3 April 1982, the prototype A310-200 airliner conducted its maiden flight; by this point, the type had accumulated a combined orders and options for 181 aircraft, which had been placed by 15 airlines worldwide, which had been a relatively superior start than that of the original A300. Over time, it had become clear that the longer-range series −200 aircraft was the more popular of the two models on offer. During 1979, in response to the lack of demand for the A310-100, Airbus decided stop offering the lower gross weight model which had been originally proposed for Lufthansa; as a consequence, none of this variant were ultimately manufactured.

During the early 1990s, demand for the aircraft began to slacken; there were no new A310 passenger orders placed during the late 1990s, in part due to the introduction of the newer and more advanced Airbus A330 during this time. As a result, during June 1998, the last delivery of the A310 was completed. The A310, along with its A300 stablemate, officially ceased production during July 2007, though an order from Iraqi Airways for five A310s had remained on the books until July 2008. The remaining freighter sales were to be instead fulfilled by the new A330-200F derivative.

The A310 has been commonly marketed as an introduction to wide-body operations for airlines based in developing countries. The airliner was replaced in Airbus' lineup by the highly successful A330-200, which shares its fuselage cross-section. Between 1983 and the last aircraft produced in 1998, 255 A310s were delivered. The A300 and A310 established Airbus as a competitor to Boeing and allowed it to go ahead with the more ambitious A320 and A330/A340 families.

As of July 2017, 37 A310s remain in commercial service; major operators are Air Transat and Mahan Air with 9 aircraft each; Fedex Express (6), and 7 airlines operating 13 aircraft between them.

The Royal Canadian Air Force currently operates a fleet of 5 Airbus CC-150 Polaris, civilian Airbus A310-300s, originally owned by Wardair, and subsequently Canadian Airlines International, after the airlines merged. The aircraft were then sold to the Canadian Government and have been converted for use as the primary long distance transport aircraft as part of the Royal Canadian Air Force's fleet of Royal Canadian Air Force VIP aircraft.

Design

The A310 has front and rear main doors and a smaller door over the wing

2-4-2 economy cabin

two-crew cockpit

The Airbus A310 was a medium- to long-range twin-engined wide-body airliner. Initially a derivative of the A300, the aircraft had originally been designated the A300B10. It was essentially a shortened variant of the earlier aircraft; however, there were considerable differences between the two aircraft. Specifically, the fuselage possessed the same cross-section but being shorter than the A300, it provided capacity for a typical maximum of 200 passengers. The rear fuselage was heavily re-designed, featuring altered tapering, while involved a move aft of the rear bulkhead to create additional capacity; this same design change was later transferred back to later variants of the A300, such as the A300-600 and A330/A340 fuselages. The A310 also had a different emergency exit configuration, consisting of four main doors (two at the front and two at the rear of the aircraft), and two smaller doors over the wings.

The wing of the A310 was redesigned, possessing a reduced span and wing area and incorporating simpler single-slotted Fowler flaps designed by British Aerospace shortly following its decision to join the Airbus consortium. Other changes to the wing included the elimination of the outer ailerons, which were occasionally referred to by the manufacturer as being "low speed ailerons", and the addition of electrically-actuated spoilers. The wing also featured common pylons, which were able to support all types of engines that were offered to customers to power the airliner. From 1985 onwards, later-built production A310s were equipped with wingtip fences for the purpose of reducing lift-induced drag. A limited number of alternations were also performed to the airliner's tail unit, such as the adoption of smaller horizontal tail surfaces.

The A310 was furnished with a two-crew glass cockpit configuration as standard, removing the requirement for a flight engineer; Airbus referred to this concept as the Forward-Facing Crew Cockpit. The company had developed the cockpit to significantly enhance the aircraft's man-machine interface, thereby improving operational safety. It was outfitted with an array of six computer-based CRT displays to provide the flight crew with centralised navigational, warning, monitoring, and general flight information in place of the more traditional analogue instrumentation and dials, which were used in conjunction with a range of modern electronic systems. The same flight deck had been incorporated into the A300-600, a move which increased commonality between the two types and enabled a dual type rating to be achieved, this same approach was later used on many future Airbus aircraft. In addition to the two flying crew, provisions for third and fourth crew seats were present upon the flight deck.

The A310 was initially launched with a choice of three engines – the General Electric CF6-80A (originally the CF6-45B2), the Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4D1 and the Rolls-Royce RB211-524B4. The specific Rolls-Royce RB211-524B4 engine intended for this initial application was not developed. General Electric powered A310-200s were originally offered with the CF6-80A3 (A310-203), but with the introduction of the A310-300, the CF6-80C2 became available for both variants. The initial offering was for the 53,000 pounds-force (240 kN) CF6-80C2A2 (A310-204/A310-304) engine and later on the higher thrust 59,000 pounds-force (260 kN) 80C2A8 (A310-308). Similarly Pratt & Whitney powered A310s were first offered with versions of the JT9D engines (both −22s and −300s) but when the PW4000 powered A310 became available in 1987, the aircraft was offered with the 52,000 pounds-force (230 kN) PW4152 (A310-324). From April 1992 the higher thrust PW4156A 56,000 pounds-force (250 kN) was offered for the A310 (A310-325), with the PW4158A 58,000 pounds-force (260 kN) /-326 becoming available from 1996.

The A310 was equipped with a modified undercarriage, derived from the A300; the landing gear were outfitted with carbon brakes, which were fitted as standard. The structure of the airliner featured a high level of composite materials throughout both primary and secondary structures, increased beyond that of the earlier A300. The A310 is outfitted with integrated drive electrical generators along with auxiliary power unit, which were improved versions of those used on the A300.

Variants

FedEx Express A310-200F without wingtip fences

Air Transat A310-300 with wingtip fences

The A310 is available in two basic versions, the medium range −200 and the longer range −300. The first version of the aircraft to be developed was the −200 but this was later joined by the −300 which then became the standard production version of the aircraft. The short range -100 variant was never developed due to low demand.

A310-200

The first A310, the 162nd Airbus off the production line, made its maiden flight on 3 April 1982 powered by the earlier Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4D1 engines. The −200 entered service with Swissair and Lufthansa a year later. Late series −200 also featured wing fences identical to those of the −300. The first three A310s were initially fitted with outboard ailerons; they were later removed once testing showed them to be unnecessary.

A310-200C

A convertible version, the seats can be removed and cargo placed on the main deck.

A310-200F

The freight version of the A310-200 available as a new build or as a conversion of the existing wide-bodied aircraft. The A310-200F freighter can carry 39t of freight for 5,950 km. No production freighters of the A310-200F were produced.

A310-300

First flown on 8 July 1985, the −300 is dimensionally identical to the −200, although it provides an increased Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) and an increase in range, provided by additional centre and horizontal stabilizer (trim-tank) fuel tanks. This model also introduced wingtip fences to improve aerodynamic efficiency, a feature that has since been retrofitted to some −200s. The aircraft entered service in 1986 with Swissair. The A310-300 incorporates a computerised fuel distribution system which allows it to be trimmed in flight, optimising the centre of gravity by shuttling up to 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) of fuel in and out of the horizontal stabilizer tank, controlled by a Center of Gravity Control Computer.

A310-300C

A convertible passenger/cargo version, the seats can be removed and cargo placed on the main deck.

A310-300F

The freight version of the A310-300F. Operators such as FedEx Express acquired modified ex-passenger A310s, usually starting with the −300 version. No production freighters of the A310-300F were produced.

A310 MRT/MRTT

Main article: Airbus A310 MRTT

The A310 has been operated by several air forces as a pure transport (A310-300 MRT), however several have now been converted to the "Multi Role Tanker Transport" configuration by EADS, providing an aerial refueling capability. At least six have been ordered; four by the German Air Force and two by the Canadian Forces. Deliveries began in 2004. Three were converted at EADS EFW in Dresden, Germany; the other three at Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg, Germany.

A310 Zero G

One A310 unit has been redesigned to become a scientific research laboratory dedicated to weightlessness. This reduced-gravity aircraft is used to realise parabolas allowing to perform 22 seconds of weightlessness. Operated by Novespace, subsidiary of CNES, French Space Agency, A310 Zero G is based on Bordeaux Mérignac airport. It also performs scientific flights, recreational flights under the Air Zero G brand, and movie special effects, such as for The Mummy (2017). Astronaut Thomas Pesquet is one of the Novespace A310 Zero G pilots.

Operators

Main article: List of Airbus A310 operators

Civilian operators

As of January 2020, a small number of commercial airlines continue to use the A310:

Afghanistan

• Ariana Afghan Airlines - 2 in service

Canada

• Air Transat - 4 in service, currently being replaced by Airbus A321LRs until April 2020

Iran

• Mahan Air - largest operator with 10 in service
• Iran Air - 2 in service
• Taban Air - 1 in service

Turkey

• Turkish Airlines - 3 in wet-lease cargo service for Turkish Cargo

Yemen

• Yemenia - 2 in service

Military operators

German Air Force A310 MRTT

German Air Force A310-300

Royal Canadian Air Force CC-150 Polaris

The A310 is also used by the armed forces of the following countries:

Canada

• Royal Canadian Air Force – designated CC-150 Polaris (originally ordered by Wardair and delivered to Canadian Airlines)

France

• French Air Force

Germany

• German Air Force

Mongolia

• Mongolian Air Force

Pakistan

• Pakistan Air Force

Spain

• Spanish Air Force

Thailand

• Royal Thai Air Force

Deliveries

By the end of production, a total of 255 A310s had been ordered and delivered.

	Total	1998	1997	1996	1995	1994	1993	1992	1991	1990	1989	1988	1987	1986	1985	1984	1983
Deliveries	255	1	2	2	2	2	22	24	19	18	23	28	21	19	26	29	17

Accidents and incidents

As of September 2015 there have been 12 hull-loss accidents involving A310s with a total of 825 fatalities; and 9 hijackings with a total of five fatalities.

• 26 March 1991: Singapore Airlines Flight 117 carrying 123 passengers and crew, was hijacked by 4 male Pakistanis en route to Singapore. The aircraft landed at Singapore safely where the Singapore Armed Forces Commando Formation stormed it and killed the hijackers. None of the hostages were hurt.
• 31 July 1992: Thai Airways International Flight 311, an A310-304 carrying 99 passengers and 14 crew, crashed on approach to Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu. All 113 on board were killed.
• 11 February 1993: Lufthansa Flight 592 carrying 94 passengers and 10 crew members that was hijacked by a 20-year-old Ethiopian man, Nebiu Demeke at the John F. Kennedy International Airport near New York City, United States. All passengers and 10 crew on board survived.
• 23 March 1994: Aeroflot Flight 593, an A310-300 carrying 63 passengers and 12 crew, crashed in Siberia after the pilot let his son sit at the controls and the autopilot partially disconnected. All 75 on board were killed.
• 31 March 1995: TAROM Flight 371, an A310-324 carrying 50 passengers and 10 crew, crashed in Baloteşti next to Otopeni International Airport near Bucharest in Romania after a jamming of the throttle on the starboard engine followed by a lack of reaction by pilots. All 60 on board were killed.
• 11 December 1998: Thai Airways International Flight 261 crashed near Surat Thani Airport in Thailand. There were 101 fatalities and 45 survived with serious injuries.
• 30 January 2000: Kenya Airways Flight 431, an A310-300 crashed in the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff from Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire. 169 passengers and crew were killed and 10 passengers survived with serious injuries. This is the deadliest aviation accident involving the Airbus A310.
• 12 July 2000: Hapag-Lloyd Flight 3378, an A310-304, crashed during an emergency landing near Vienna in Austria due to fuel exhaustion. All 142 passengers and 8 crew on board survived.
• 6 March 2005: Air Transat Flight 961, an Airbus A310-308, en route from Cuba to Quebec City with nine crew and 261 passengers on board, experienced a structural failure in which the rudder detached in flight. The aircraft returned to Varadero, Cuba, where they made a safe landing. The crew made no unusual rudder inputs during the flight nor was the rudder being manipulated when it failed; there was no obvious fault in the rudder or yaw-damper system. Subsequent investigation determined that Airbus' inspection procedure for the composite rudder was inadequate; inspection procedures for composite structures on airliners were changed following this accident.
• 9 July 2006: S7 Airlines Flight 778, an Airbus A310-324 from Moscow carrying 196 passengers and eight crew, overshot the runway at Irkutsk in Siberia, plowed through a concrete barrier and caught fire as it crashed into buildings. Reports said that 70 of the 204 on board survived, with 12 missing. Since the accident, casualty figures have fluctuated, in part due to three people boarding the aircraft who were not on the passenger manifest, and some survivors walking home after being assumed trapped in the wreckage.
• 12 March 2007: Biman Bangladesh Airlines Flight 006, an A310-325 carrying 236 passengers and crew, suffered a collapsed nose gear during its takeoff run. Fourteen people suffered minor injuries in the accident at Dubai International Airport. The aircraft came to rest at the end of the runway and was evacuated, but blocked the only active runway and forced the airport to close for nearly eight hours. The aircraft was written off.
• 10 June 2008: Sudan Airways Flight 109, an A310-324 from Amman, Jordan carrying 203 passengers and 11 crew, ran off the runway while landing at Khartoum International Airport during bad weather. Soon afterward a fire started in the aircraft's right wing area. A total of 30 people were killed.
• 30 June 2009, Yemenia Flight 626, an A310-324 flying from Sana'a, Yemen, to Moroni, Comoros crashed into the Indian Ocean shortly before reaching its destination. The aircraft was carrying 153 passengers and crew; there was one survivor, a 12-year-old girl, Bahia Bakari.

Preserved aircraft

The first Airbus delivered in China was this A310, to China Eastern Airlines in 1985, retired in 2006 and displayed at the Beijing Civil Aviation Museum.

• ex-China Eastern Airlines A310-222 B-2301 preserved at the China Civil Aviation Museum near Beijing Capital International Airport
• ex-Nigeria Airways A310-222 5N-AUG is now the Italian restaurant All Italia in Gilly, about 5 km south of Brussels Charleroi Airport.

Specifications

A310 Airplane Characteristics

Model	A310-200	A310-300
Cockpit Crew	Two
2-class	220 passengers (20F + 200Y)
1-class	237Y 8-abreast	243Y 8-abreast / 265Y 9-abreast
Exit limit	275 passengers
Lower deck	14 LD3 containers
Length	46.66 m (153 ft 1 in)
Height	15.8 m (51 ft 10 in) fuselage
Wing	43.9 m (144 ft) span, 219 m2 (2,360 sq ft) area, 28 ° sweep
Cross section	5.64 m (18 ft 6 in)
Maximum Payload	32,834 kg (72,387 lb)	37,293 kg (82,217 lb)
MTOW	144,000 kg (317,466 lb)	164,000 kg (361,558 lb)
OEW	JT9D: 77.4 t (171,000 lb), PW4000/CF6-80: 79.2 t (175,000 lb)
Max fuel	47,940 kg / 105 689 lb
Engines	JT9D-7R4 / GE CF6-80	JT9D-7R4E1 / PW4000 / CF6-80C2
Thrust (×2)	203.8–257.4 kN (45,800–57,900 lbf)
speed	Mach 0.8 (459 kn; 850 km/h) cruise, Mach 0.84 (482 kn; 892 km/h) MMO
Ceiling	41,100 ft (12,527 m)
Range	3,500 nmi (6,500 km)	5,150 nmi (9,540 km)

Aircraft model designations

Type Certificate Data Sheet

Model	Certification Date	Engines
A310-203	11 March 1983	GE CF6-80A3
A310-203C	27 November 1984	GE CF6-80A3
A310-204	23 April 1986	GE CF6-80C2A2
A310-221	11 March 1983	PW JT9D-7R4D1
A310-222	22 September 1983	PW JT9D-7R4E1
A310-304	11 March 1986	GE CF6-80C2A2
A310-308	5 June 1991	GE CF6-80C2A8/A2
A310-322	5 December 1985	PW JT9D-7R4E1
A310-324	27 May 1987	PW4152
A310-325	6 March 1992	PW4156A

See also

• Competition between Airbus and Boeing

Related development

• Airbus A300
• Airbus A310 MRTT
• Airbus A330
• Airbus A340
• CC-150 Polaris

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• McDonnell Douglas DC-10
• Boeing 767

Related lists

• List of jet airliners

References

Bibliography

• Endres, Günter (Spring 2004). "Classic Airliner: Airbus A300". Flightpath: The International Journal of Commercial Aviation (Volume 3). Norwalk, Connecticut, USA: AIRtime Publishing: 36–85. ISBN 1-880588-73-0. {{cite journal}}: |issue= has extra text (help)
• Gunston, Bill. Airbus: The Complete Story. Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset, UK: Haynes Publishing, 2009. ISBN 978-1-84425-585-6.
• Norris, Guy and Mark Wagner. Airbus. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-7603-0677-X.
• Pitt, Ivan L. and John Randolph Norsworthy. Economics of the U.S. Commercial Airline Industry: Productivity, Technology and Deregulation. "Springer", 2012. ISBN 1-4615-5031-9.
• Senguttuvan, P. S. Fundamentals of Air Transport Management. "Excel Books India", 2006. ISBN 81-7446-459-X.
• Simons, Graham. The Airbus A380: A History. "Pen and Sword", 2014. ISBN 1-78303-041-0.
• "World Airliner Census". Flight International, Volume 184, Number 5403, 13–19 August 2013, pp. 40–58.

Notes

• ^2 The fuselage is 14 frames (7.42m) shorter than the A300 fuselage, but the rear bulkhead was set 2 frames farther into the tailcone, so that only 12 frames of seating capacity were lost in the shortened version.

External links

• Production List
• Official website