The Airbus A320 is the most ubiquitous aircraft flying in the sky and has become the main
rival of the Boeing 737. But why did Airbus build it?
In the early 80s, there were only a few single-aisle, twin-jet aircraft that suited travel within
Europe. The BAC One-Eleven, while highly praised, was ready for replacement. Options on the
market were limited to the American made Boeing 737-200 or DC-9.
There was no European short-haul aircraft for airlines to purchase. Governments saw
a gap in the market that was being filled by foreign competitors.
Airbus had recently completed the Airbus A300 and had been successful with the A310. However,
governments at the time decided not to hand over the single-aisle project to Airbus just
yet, letting other manufactures try first.
Initial bidders consisted of MAC, Saab, Casa, and MBB. They initially created a rear-engine
180-200 seater aircraft called the Europlane. However, as they worked on it, they realized
its mission profile was almost identical to the current Airbus A310. The design was subsequently
dropped. Another team consisting of Fokker, Dornier,
and Hawker-Siddeley, created a 150-seater short-range aircraft. Unfortunately, it did
not carry enough passengers.
According to Flight Global in 1997, a third-team which included France’s Dassault created
a longer-range version of the Mercure. It eventually partnered with McDonnel Douglas
on a new medium-range transport plane. Lack of sales of the Mercure ended this aircraft
concept.
The lack of developments in the competitive European market frustrated governments. This
led to a new consortium consisting of Airbus suppliers (but not Airbus itself). The Joint
European Transport program (JET) put together a new single-aisle aircraft that could carry
163 passengers. JET developed three twin-engine concepts,
ranging from 130 seats up to 188 seats. It would have a speed of Mach 0.84, which was
faster than the Boeing 737 at the time. The suppliers of Airbus realized that they
would have to all work together to build this aircraft… which was the whole point of Airbus
in the first place. Thus, the project was finally handed over to Airbus to take charge
and turn the concepts into an actual plan. Airbus created three designs called SA1, SA2,
and SA3. Little did Airbus know at the time, but they had just outlined the A319, A320,
and A321. Airbus decided that the first concept it would
build would be the SA2 (to be the A320). Delta Air Lines advised that they were looking for
a two-class, 150-seater jet aircraft. Airbus would use this demand as a baseline for its
new aircraft. However, going with the Delta idea annoyed
local European airlines like Lufthansa (and its patron, the German Government), who wanted
a new quadjet long-range aircraft like the Boeing 747.
Airbus believed that the future lay with new technologies (such as fly-by-wire) and wanted
to test these products on a smaller aircraft first. Plus, pressure from other governments
to build a competitor to the Boeing 737 was rising fast. In the end, Lufthansa relented.
Unofficially, several airlines made intentions to purchase during the 1981 Paris Air Show
despite Airbus not making the aircraft available for order. This included Air France, British
Caledonian, Cyprus Airways, and others. While orders grew, infighting between suppliers
for contracts delayed the program by three years.
It was around the mid 80s that Airbus discovered one unexpected benefit of its fly-by-wire
system: Using electronics instead of mechanical components to control the aircraft allowed
it to be replicated to other aircraft while keeping the same flying characteristics.
This allowed an Airbus pilot on an A320 to potentially fly other Airbus aircraft without
having to qualify for a new type rating. Realizing this, Airbus went back to finish its plans
for the A319 and A321. The A320 is truly the most versatile aircraft
platform ever built, and its flexible design is a testament to the original engineers from
the 1980s. The A320 would finally eclipse its rival, the Boeing 737, as the best selling
passenger aircraft in late 2019. However, this age of the Airbus A320 might
be coming to a close, with news that France plans to develop a successor to the Airbus
A320 in the next ten years. What do you think of this development journey?
Do you like the A320? Let us know in
the comments.