Airbus A300
_at_Le_Bourget_Airport.jpg) Airbus A300. Photo: Eduard Marmet, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
| |
| Make | Airbus |
|---|---|
| Model | Airbus A300 |
| Type | Wide-body airliner |
| Country |  Multi-national
|
| First flight | 28 October 1972 |
| Built | 1971–2007 |
| Status | In limited passenger service, in cargo service |
| Number built | 561 |
| Registered in the US | 120 (FAA register, October 30, 2026)
|
| More aircraft · For sale | |
The Airbus A300 is Airbus's first airplane and the world's first twin-engine wide-body airliner.[1] Airbus built 561 between 1971 and 2007, and it is still in cargo service and limited passenger service; FedEx Express is its biggest user.[1] In the U.S. there are 120 with a valid registration, most of them A300-600 freighters.[2]
History
In September 1967 aircraft makers in France, West Germany and Britain agreed to work together on a new large airliner. The British withdrew in April 1969, and France and West Germany signed a firm agreement on May 29, 1969.[1] Airbus Industrie was formed on December 18, 1970, and the A300 prototype first flew on October 28, 1972.[1] Launch customer Air France put it into service on May 23, 1974.[1]
Sales were slow at first, partly because of the 1973 oil crisis, but by 1979 there were 81 A300s in service with 14 airlines.[1] The improved A300-600, with a two-pilot cockpit, first flew on July 8, 1983.[1]
Family
The A300 led to the smaller A310, and its fuselage cross-section was used for the A330 and A340. It is also the basis of the oversized Beluga transport.[1]
Key figures
- Seats: typically 247 in two classes[1]
- Range: 5,375 to 7,500 km (3,340 to 4,660 mi)[1]
- Engines: two General Electric CF6 or Pratt & Whitney JT9D/PW4000 turbofans[1]
Registered in the United States
The FAA register lists 120 of these airplanes with a valid U.S. registration. Here they are by the model name the FAA uses.[2]
| FAA model name | Registered |
|---|---|
| A300 F4-622R | 52 |
| A300 F4-605R | 42 |
| A300 B4-622R | 21 |
| A300 B4-605R | 3 |
| A300 B4-622 | 2 |
Photos
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Airbus A300 fuselage cross-section, showing the passenger compartment above and cargo containers below. Photo: Asiir at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5 -
Iran Air Airbus A300-605R; EP-IBD@FRA;06.07.2011/603ks. Photo: Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland, CC BY-SA 2.0 -
AIRBUS A 300 B. Photo: sebastien loubet, CC BY 2.0 -
Airbus A300. Photo: Don-vip, CC BY-SA 3.0 -
Airbus A300. Photo: André Cros, CC BY-SA 4.0 -
Airbus A300. Photo: Amayagan, CC0 -
JAL A300-600R(JA014D). Photo: Kentaro Iemoto from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY-SA 2.0
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All photos are from Wikimedia Commons; click a photo for its full credit and license.
Buying a Airbus A300
Sources
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Wikipedia, "Airbus A300", read November 1, 2026. Airplane Wiki's text is written in its own words; facts are checked against this article and its sources.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Federal Aviation Administration, Releasable Aircraft Database, file dated October 30, 2026. Valid registrations of fixed-wing airplanes whose FAA maker and model names belong to this family. Airplane Wiki uses only counts from this file, never owner names or addresses.