A320 Family
A320 Family at a glance
The Airbus A320 is the aircraft that made Airbus: the world's first fly-by-wire airliner, entering service in 1988 with sidesticks and flight envelope protection that every Airbus since has inherited, and the family that broke Boeing's monopoly on single-aisle flying. Spanning the A318, A319, A320 and A321, the ceo generation sold more than 8,000 aircraft and remains the most numerous airliner family in the sky, with over 5,000 still in scheduled service.
Its cockpit commonality became the industry's most powerful lock-in: a pilot rated on one A320 flies them all, including today's A320neo generation, which is why the family's biggest operators, American, China Eastern, Delta and LATAM, span every continent and business model from full-service giants to the low-cost carriers the A320 helped create. Production of the ceo ended as the neo took over the line, but the classic A320 will carry passengers deep into the 2030s.
Variant comparison
| Specification | Airbus A321-200 | Airbus A320-200 |
|---|---|---|
| Typical seats (2-class) | 150-180 | 150-180 |
| Maximum seats | 220 | 180 |
| Range | 3,200 | 3,300 |
| Length | 44.51 m | 37.57 m |
Full specifications
Operators
Frequently asked questions
It was the first airliner with fly-by-wire controls and sidesticks, entering service in 1988 with computer-enforced flight envelope protection, a design philosophy every subsequent Airbus shares.
More than 5,000 A320-family ceo aircraft remain in scheduled service worldwide, the most numerous airliner family in the sky, alongside the newer A320neo generation.
The neo (new engine option) pairs the same airframe with geared turbofan or LEAP engines for roughly 15-20% lower fuel burn; the ceo (current engine option) is the original 1988-generation family with CFM56 or V2500 engines.