Editing Airbus A300 (section)

== Development ==

=== Origins ===
[[File:Hawker-Nord-Breguet HBN100.png|thumb|In 1966, [[Hawker Siddeley]], [[Nord Aviation]], and [[Breguet Aviation]] proposed the 260-seat [[wide-body]] ''HBN 100'' with a similar configuration]]

During the 1960s, European aircraft manufacturers such as [[Hawker Siddeley]] and the [[British Aircraft Corporation]], based in the UK, and [[Sud Aviation]] of France, had ambitions to build a new 200-seat airliner for the growing civil aviation market. While studies were performed and considered, such as a stretched twin-engine variant of the [[Hawker Siddeley Trident]] and an expanded development of the [[British Aircraft Corporation]] (BAC) [[One-Eleven]], designated the [[BAC Three-Eleven|BAC Two-Eleven]], it was recognized that if each of the European manufacturers were to launch similar aircraft into the market at the same time, neither would achieve sales volume needed to make them viable.<ref name="early days">[http://www.airbus.com/company/history/the-narrative/early-days-1967-1969/ "Early days (1967–1969)."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705195621/http://www.airbus.com/company/history/the-narrative/early-days-1967-1969/ |date=5 July 2011 }} ''Airbus'', Retrieved: 28 February 2016.</ref> In 1965, a British government study, known as the Plowden Report, had found British aircraft production costs to be between 10% and 20% higher than American counterparts due to shorter production runs, which was in part due to the fractured European market. To overcome this factor, the report recommended the pursuit of multinational collaborative projects between the region's leading aircraft manufacturers.<ref name=Bowen>Bowen, John T. ''The Economic Geography of Air Transportation: Space, Time, and the Freedom of the Sky.'' "Business & Economics", 2010. {{ISBN|1-135-15657-3}}, pp. 49–53.</ref>{{rp|49}}<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1966/feb/01/aircraft-industry-plowden-report "Aircraft Industry (Plowden Report)."] ''[[Hansard]]'', February 1966. vol 723, cc 890–1016.</ref><ref name=ITC>{{cite book|author=U.S. International Trade Commission|title=Global Competitiveness of U. S. Advanced-Technology Manufacturing Industries: Large Civil Aircraft|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iMN_GHp-iEkC|date=October 1995|publisher=DianePublishing|isbn=978-0-7881-2526-3|series=Investigation No. 332-332, Publication 2667}} pp. 2–16.</ref>{{rp|2–13}}

European manufacturers were keen to explore prospective programmes; the proposed 260-seat [[wide-body]] ''HBN 100'' between Hawker Siddeley, [[Nord Aviation]], and [[Breguet Aviation]] being one such example.<ref name="early days" /><ref name=Simons>Simons, Graham. ''The Airbus A380: A History.'' "Pen and Sword", 2014. {{ISBN|1-78303-041-0}}, pp. 37–40.</ref>{{rp|37–38}} National governments were also keen to support such efforts amid a belief that American manufacturers could dominate the [[European Economic Community]];<ref>Chorafas, Dimitris N. ''The Business of Europe is Politics: Business Opportunity, Economic Nationalism and the Decaying Atlantic Alliance.'' Gower Publishing, 2012. {{ISBN|1-4094-5959-4}} p. 292.</ref> in particular, Germany had ambitions for a multinational airliner project to invigorate its aircraft industry, which had declined considerably following the [[Second World War]].<ref name=Bowen />{{rp|49–50}} During the mid-1960s, both [[Air France]] and [[American Airlines]] had expressed interest in a short-haul twin-engine [[wide-body aircraft]], indicating a market demand for such an aircraft to be produced.<ref name=Bowen /><ref name="airbus 30">[https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/airbus-at-thirty-family-planning-124235/ "Airbus at thirty – Family planning."] ''Flight International'', 2 January 2001.</ref> In July 1967, during a high-profile meeting between French, German, and British ministers, an agreement was made for greater cooperation between European nations in the field of aviation technology, and "for the joint development and production of an airbus".<ref name="early days" /><ref name=Senguttuvan />{{rp|34}} The word ''airbus'' at this point was a generic aviation term for a larger commercial aircraft, and was considered acceptable in multiple languages, including [[French language|French]].<ref name=Senguttuvan />{{rp|34}}

[[File:28.10.72 1er Vol d'Airbus (1972) - 53Fi1992 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Technical director [[Roger Béteille]] (from behind) discussing with general manager [[Henri Ziegler]] beside the [[CF6]] turbofan, which powered the A300 first flight]]

Shortly after the July 1967 meeting, French engineer [[Roger Béteille]] was appointed as the technical director of what would become the A300 programme, while [[Henri Ziegler]], chief operating office of Sud Aviation, was appointed as the general manager of the organisation and German politician [[Franz Josef Strauss]] became the chairman of the supervisory board.<ref name="early days" /> Béteille drew up an initial work share plan for the project, under which French firms would produce the aircraft's cockpit, the control systems, and lower-centre portion of the fuselage, Hawker Siddeley would manufacture the wings, while German companies would produce the forward, rear and upper part of the center fuselage sections. Additional work included moving elements of the wings being produced in the [[Netherlands]], and Spain producing the horizontal tail plane.<ref name="early days" /><ref name=Simons />{{rp|38}}

An early design goal for the A300 that Béteille had stressed the importance of was the incorporation of a high level of technology, which would serve as a decisive advantage over prospective competitors. For this reason, the A300 would feature the first use of [[composite material|composite]] materials of any passenger aircraft, the leading and trailing edges of the tail fin being composed of [[Fiberglass|glass fibre reinforced plastic]].<ref name=ITC />{{rp|2–16}}<ref name="first order flight" /> Béteille opted for English as the working language for the developing aircraft, as well against using [[Metric system|Metric]] instrumentation and measurements, as most airlines already had US-built aircraft.<ref name="first order flight" /> These decisions were partially influenced by feedback from various airlines, such as Air France and [[Lufthansa]], as an emphasis had been placed on determining the specifics of what kind of aircraft that potential operators were seeking. According to Airbus, this cultural approach to market research had been crucial to the company's long-term success.<ref name="first order flight">[http://www.airbus.com/company/history/the-narrative/first-order-first-flight-1970-1972/ "First order, first flight (1970–1972)."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401095900/http://www.airbus.com/company/history/the-narrative/first-order-first-flight-1970-1972/ |date=1 April 2015 }} ''Airbus'', Retrieved: 28 February 2016.</ref>

=== Workshare and redefinition ===

On 26 September 1967, the French, West German and British governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding to start the development of the 300-seat Airbus A300.<ref name=Simons />{{rp|38}}<ref name=Endres />{{rp|43}}<ref name=Pitt>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}}, pp. 57, 60.</ref>{{rp|57}} At this point, the A300 was only the second major joint aircraft programme in Europe, the first being the Anglo-French [[Concorde]].<ref name=Senguttuvan>Senguttuvan, P. S. ''Fundamentals of Air Transport Management.'' "Excel Books India", 2006. {{ISBN|81-7446-459-X}}. pp. 33–34.</ref> Under the terms of the memorandum, the French and British were to each receive a 37.5 per cent work share on the project, while the West Germans would receive a 25 per cent share. Sud Aviation was recognized as the lead contractor for the A300, with Hawker Siddeley being selected as the British partner company.<ref name="early days" /> At the time, the news of the announcement had been clouded by the British Government's support for the Airbus, which coincided with its refusal to back BAC's proposed competitor, the BAC 2–11, despite a preference for the latter expressed by [[British European Airways]] (BEA).<ref name=Senguttuvan />{{rp|34}} Another parameter was the requirement for a new engine to be developed by [[Rolls-Royce Limited|Rolls-Royce]] to power the proposed airliner; a derivative of the in-development [[Rolls-Royce RB211]], the [[Turbofan#Three-spool|triple-spool]] RB207, capable of producing of {{cvt|47500|lbf|kN}}.<ref name="Flight International1968">{{cite journal|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1968/1968%20-%200017.html|title=Aero Engines 1968: "Flight" special review|date=4 January 1968|journal=Flight International|issue=3069|volume=93|pages=19–30}}</ref>
The programme cost was [[US$]]4.6 billion (in 1993 dollars, equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|4600000000|1993}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}}).<ref name=FIapr2008>{{cite web |url= https://www.forecastinternational.com/archive/disp_pdf.cfm?DACH_RECNO=188 |title= Airbus A300 report |date= April 2008 |publisher= Forecast international}}</ref>

[[File:Airbus A300 cross section.jpg|thumb|The {{cvt|5.64|m|in|0}} diameter circular fuselage section for 8-abreast seating and 2 [[LD3]] containers below. This is part of the first A300 prototype, [[F-OCAZ]], on display at [[Deutsches Museum]] in Munich.]]
In December 1968, the French and British partner companies (Sud Aviation and Hawker Siddeley) proposed a revised configuration, the 250-seat Airbus A250. It had been feared that the original 300-seat proposal was too large for the market, thus it had been scaled down to produce the A250.<ref name=ITC />{{rp|2–14}}<ref name="airbus 30" /><ref name="trouble strife">[https://www.airbus.com/company/history/aircraft-history/1968-1969.html "Trouble and strife (1968–1969)."] ''Airbus'', Retrieved: 28 February 2016.</ref> The dimensional changes involved in the shrink reduced the length of the fuselage by {{convert|5.62|m|ft}} and the diameter by {{convert|0.8|m|in}}, reducing the overall weight by {{convert|25|t|lb}}.<ref name="first order flight" /><ref name=NorWag>{{Cite book|last1=Norris|first1=Guy and Mark Wagner|title=Airbus|location=Osceola, Wisconsin|publisher=MBI Publishing|year=1999|isbn=0-7603-0677-X|ref={{harvid|Norris|Wagner|1999}}|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/airbus0000norr|pages=16–25}}</ref>{{rp|16}} For increased flexibility, the cabin floor was raised so that standard [[unit load device|LD3 freight containers]] could be accommodated side-by-side, allowing more cargo to be carried. Refinements made by Hawker Siddeley to the wing's design provided for greater lift and overall performance; this gave the aircraft the ability to climb faster and attain a level cruising altitude sooner than any other passenger aircraft.<ref name="first order flight" /> It was later renamed the A300B.<ref name=Senguttuvan />{{rp|34}}<ref name="trouble strife" />

Perhaps the most significant change of the A300B was that it would not require new engines to be developed, being of a suitable size to be powered by Rolls-Royce's RB211, or alternatively the American [[Pratt & Whitney JT9D]] and [[General Electric CF6]] powerplants; this switch was recognized as considerably reducing the project's development costs.<ref name=Endres />{{rp|45}}<ref name="trouble strife" /><ref name=NorWag />{{rp|16–17}} To attract potential customers in the US market, it was decided that General Electric CF6-50 engines would power the A300 in place of the British RB207; these engines would be produced in co-operation with French firm [[Snecma]].<ref name="airbus 30" /><ref name="first order flight" /> By this time, Rolls-Royce had been concentrating their efforts upon developing their RB211 [[turbofan]] engine instead and progress on the RB207's development had been slow for some time, the firm having suffered due to funding limitations, both of which had been factors in the engine switch decision.<ref name=ITC />{{rp|2–13}}<ref name="trouble strife" /><ref name=NorWag />{{rp|17–18}}

On 10 April 1969, a few months after the decision to drop the RB207 had been announced, the British government announced that they would withdraw from the Airbus venture.<ref name=Simons />{{rp|38–39}}<ref name="trouble strife" /> In response, West Germany proposed to France that they would be willing to contribute up to 50% of the project's costs if France was prepared to do the same.<ref name="trouble strife" /> Additionally, the managing director of Hawker Siddeley, [[Arnold Alexander Hall|Sir Arnold Alexander Hall]], decided that his company would remain in the project as a favoured sub-contractor, developing and manufacturing the wings for the A300, which would prove to be an important contributor to the performance of subsequent versions.<ref name=ITC />{{rp|2–13}}<ref name=Senguttuvan />{{rp|34}}<ref name=NorWag />{{rp|18}} Hawker Siddeley spent £35 million of its own funds, along with a further £35 million loan from the West German government, on the machine tooling to design and produce the wings.<ref name=Simons />{{rp|39}}<ref name="trouble strife" />

=== Programme launch ===
[[File:Airbus A300B2-103 (F-WUAD) at Le Bourget Airport.jpg|thumb|An A300 in vintage Airbus livery, it was rolled out on 28 September 1972]]

On 29 May 1969, during the [[Paris Air Show]], French transport minister [[Jean Chamant]] and German economics minister [[Karl Schiller]] signed an agreement officially launching the Airbus A300, the world's first twin-engine widebody airliner.<ref name="early days" /> The intention of the project was to produce an aircraft that was smaller, lighter, and more economical than its three-engine American rivals, the [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10]] and the [[Lockheed L-1011 TriStar]].<ref name="first order flight" /> In order to meet Air France's demands for an aircraft larger than 250-seat A300B, it was decided to stretch the fuselage to create a new variant, designated as the A300B2, which would be offered alongside the original 250-seat A300B, henceforth referred to as the A300B1. On 3 September 1970, Air France signed a letter of intent for six A300s, marking the first order to be won for the new airliner.<ref name=Simons />{{rp|39}}<ref name="first order flight" /><ref name=NorWag />{{rp|21}}

In the aftermath of the Paris Air Show agreement, it was decided that, in order to provide effective management of responsibilities, a [[Groupement d'intérêt économique]] would be established, allowing the various partners to work together on the project while remaining separate business entities.<ref name="early days" /> On 18 December 1970, Airbus Industrie was formally established following an agreement between [[Aérospatiale]] (the newly merged [[Sud Aviation]] and [[Nord Aviation]]) of France and the antecedents to [[Deutsche Aerospace]] of Germany, each receiving a 50 per cent stake in the newly formed company.<ref name=Bowen />{{rp|50}}<ref name=Simons />{{rp|39}}<ref name="first order flight" /> In 1971, the consortium was joined by a third full partner, the Spanish firm [[Construcciones Aeronáuticas|CASA]], who received a 4.2 per cent stake, the other two members reducing their stakes to 47.9 per cent each.<ref name="first order flight" /><ref name=NorWag />{{rp|20}} In 1979, Britain joined the Airbus consortium via [[British Aerospace]], which Hawker Siddeley had merged into, which acquired a 20 per cent stake in Airbus Industrie with France and Germany each reducing their stakes to 37.9 per cent.<ref name=Bowen />{{rp|53}}<ref name=ITC />{{rp|2–14}}<ref name=Simons />{{rp|39}}

=== Prototype and flight testing ===
[[File:28.10.72 1er Vol d'Airbus (1972) - 53Fi1979 (cropped, restored).jpg|thumb|The 28 October 1972 maiden flight]]

Airbus Industrie was initially headquartered in [[Paris]], which is where design, development, flight testing, sales, marketing, and customer support activities were centred; the headquarters was relocated to [[Toulouse]] in January 1974.<ref name="airbus 30" /><ref name="first order flight" /> The final assembly line for the A300 was located adjacent to [[Toulouse Blagnac International Airport]]. The manufacturing process necessitated transporting each aircraft section being produced by the partner companies scattered across Europe to this one location. The combined use of ferries and roads were used for the assembly of the first A300, however this was time-consuming and not viewed as ideal by [[Felix Kracht]], Airbus Industrie's production director.<ref name="first order flight" /> Kracht's solution was to have the various A300 sections brought to Toulouse by a fleet of [[Boeing 377]]-derived [[Aero Spacelines Super Guppy]] aircraft, by which means none of the manufacturing sites were more than two hours away. Having the sections airlifted in this manner made the A300 the first airliner to use [[just-in-time manufacturing]] techniques, and allowed each company to manufacture its sections as fully equipped, ready-to-fly assemblies.<ref name=Bowen />{{rp|53}}<ref name="first order flight" />

In September 1969, construction of the first prototype A300 began.<ref name=NorWag />{{rp|20}} On 28 September 1972, this first prototype was unveiled to the public, it conducted its [[maiden flight]] from Toulouse–Blagnac International Airport on 28 October that year.<ref name=Simons />{{rp|39}}<ref name=Senguttuvan />{{rp|34}}<ref name=Endres>{{cite journal|last=Endres|first=Günter|title=Classic Airliner: Airbus A300|journal=Flightpath: The International Journal of Commercial Aviation|volume=3|date=Spring 2004|publisher=AIRtime Publishing|location=Norwalk, Connecticut|isbn=1-880588-73-0|pages=43, 45, 51–52}}</ref>{{rp|51–52}} This maiden flight, which was performed a month ahead of schedule, lasted for one hour and 25 minutes; the captain was Max Fischl and the first officer was Bernard Ziegler, son of Henri Ziegler.<ref name="first order flight" /> In 1972, unit cost was US$17.5M.<ref name=Flight10Aug1972>{{cite magazine |url= https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1972/1972%20-%202020.html |title= Airliner price index |magazine= Flight International |date= 10 August 1972 |page= 183}}</ref> On 5 February 1973, the second prototype performed its maiden flight.<ref name=Simons />{{rp|39}} The flight test programme, which involved a total of four aircraft, was relatively problem-free, accumulating 1,580 flight hours throughout.<ref name=NorWag />{{rp|22}} In September 1973, as part of promotional efforts for the A300, the new aircraft was taken on a six-week tour around [[North America]] and [[South America]], to demonstrate it to airline executives, pilots, and would-be customers.<ref name="first order flight" /> Amongst the consequences of this expedition, it had allegedly brought the A300 to the attention of [[Frank Borman]], the CEO of [[Eastern Airlines]], one of the "big four" U.S. airlines.<ref name="Champagne and Drought" />

=== Entry into service ===
On 15 March 1974, [[type certificate]]s were granted for the A300 from both German and French authorities, clearing the way for its entry into revenue service.<ref name="Champagne and Drought" /> On 23 May 1974, [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA) certification was received.<ref name=NorWag />{{rp|22}} The first production model, the A300B2, entered service in 1974, followed by the A300B4 one year later.<ref name="airbus 30" /> Initially, the success of the consortium was poor, in part due to the economic consequences of the [[1973 oil crisis]],<ref name=Simons />{{rp|40}}<ref name="airbus 30" /><ref name=Senguttuvan />{{rp|34}} but by 1979 there were 81 A300 passenger liners in service with 14 airlines, alongside 133 firm orders and 88 options.<ref name="Champagne and Drought" /> Ten years after the official launch of the A300, the company had achieved a 26 per cent market share in terms of dollar value, enabling Airbus to proceed with the development of its second aircraft, the [[Airbus A310]].<ref name="Champagne and Drought" />