Airbus A320 family
1987 jet airliner family by Airbus including the A318, A319, A320, A321 and ACJ series
The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus, and is the best-selling airliner ever built. The A320 aircraft programme was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France.
The first member of the family was followed by the stretched A321 (first delivered in January 1994), the shorter A319 (April 1996), and the shortest variant, the A318 (July 2003).
Final assembly takes place in Toulouse in France; Hamburg in Germany; Tianjin in China since 2009; and Mobile, Alabama, in the United States since April 2016.
The twinjet has a six-abreast economy cross-section and came with either CFM56-5A or -5B, or IAE V2500 turbofan engines, except the A318. The A318 has either two CFM56-5B engines or a pair of PW6000 engines in place of the IAE V2500.
The family pioneered the use of digital fly-by-wire and side-stick flight controls in airliners.
Variants offer maximum take-off weights from 68 to 93.5 tonnes (150,000 to 206,000 lb), with a range of 5,740–6,940 kilometres (3,570–4,320 mi; 3,100–3,750 nmi).
The 31.4 m (103 ft) long A318 typically accommodates 107 to 132 passengers.
The 124-156 seat A319 is 33.8 m (111 ft) long.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Airbus A320 family” is 1987 jet airliner family by Airbus including the A318, A319, A320, A321 and ACJ series. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Airbus, A320 and family, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “1987 jet airliner family by Airbus including the A318, A319, A320, A321 and ACJ series” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6475. The Library of Congress control number is sh2005003902. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1984, 1987, 1988 and 1994.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Airbus A320 family”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Airbus A320 family primary sources, Airbus A320 family archive and Airbus research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Airbus A320 family”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Airbus A320 family” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.