Editing Airbus A320 family (section)

== Operational history ==
The [[Joint Aviation Authorities]] (JAA) issued the [[type certificate]] for the A320 on 26 February 1988. After entering the market on 18 April 1988 with Air France, Airbus then expanded the A320 family rapidly, launching the 185-seat A321 in 1989 and first delivered it in 1994; launching the 124-seat A319 in 1993 and delivering it in 1996; and launching the 107-seat A318 in 1999 with first deliveries in 2003.<ref>[[Aviation Week & Space Technology]], 29 October 2007, p. 63</ref>

{{as of|2024|3}}, the global A320 fleet had 99.7 percent operational reliability in the last 12 months and completed more than 176 million flights over 328 million block hours since its entry into service.<ref name="A320_2022file">{{cite news |orig-date=31 March 2024 |title=A320 FAMILY: the most successful aircraft family ever |url=https://www.airbus.com/sites/g/files/jlcbta136/files/2024-04/Airbus-A320%20Family-Facts-and-Figures-April-2024.pdf |publisher=Airbus}}</ref>

===Competition===
{{See also|Competition between Airbus and Boeing#Single aisles: A320 vs 737}}
[[File:UnitedandVA 32315 (16735062459).jpg|thumb|The main competition of the A320 family (background) is the [[Boeing 737 Next Generation]] (foreground).]]

The A320 family was developed to compete with the Boeing 737 Classics (-300/-400/-500) and the McDonnell Douglas MD-80/90 series, and has since faced challenges from the [[Boeing 737 Next Generation]] (-600/-700/-800/-900) and the [[Boeing 717|717]] during its two decades in service. As of 2010, the A320 family also faced competition from [[Embraer]]'s [[Embraer E-Jets|E-195]] (to the A318) and the CSeries being developed by [[Bombardier Aerospace|Bombardier]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/business/worldbusiness/14air.html|title=A New Bombardier Jet Draws Only Tepid Demand|work=The New York Times|date=14 July 2008|access-date=4 April 2010|first=Micheline|last=Maynard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110619122224/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/business/worldbusiness/14air.html|archive-date=19 June 2011|url-status = live}}</ref> (now [[Airbus A220]]) to the A318/A319.

Airbus has delivered 8,605 A320 family aircraft since their certification/first delivery in early 1988, with another 6,056 on firm order (as of 31 December 2018).<ref name="Airbus_O_D"/> In comparison, Boeing has shipped 10,444 737-series aircraft since late 1967, including 8,918<ref name="Historic Boeing 1988-2018">{{cite web |title=Boeing Orders & Deliveries |url=http://www.boeing.com/commercial/#/orders-deliveries |website=Boeing.com |publisher=Boeing Press Calculations |date=31 August 2020 |access-date=11 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831144553/http://www.boeing.com/commercial/#/orders-deliveries |archive-date=31 August 2011 |url-status = live}}</ref> since March 1988,<ref name=Boeing_O-D/> and has a further 4,763 on firm order (as of 31 December 2018).<ref name=Boeing_O-D/>

[[File:AirAsia A320-216 9m-AGZ at Kota Kinabalu International Airport..jpg|thumb|A320-200 with cargo door open during operations with one of its largest customers, [[AirAsia]]]]
By September 2018, there were 7,251 A320ceo family aircraft in service versus 6,757 737NGs, while Airbus expected to deliver 3,174 [[A320neo]]s compared with 2,999 [[Boeing 737 MAX]] through 2022.<!--<ref name=MRO29aug2018>-->
Airbus sold the A320 well to low-cost startups and offering a choice of engines could make them more attractive to airlines and lessors than the single-sourced 737, but CFM engines are extremely reliable.<!--<ref name=MRO29aug2018>-->
The six-month head start of the A320neo allowed Airbus to rack up 1,000 orders before Boeing announced the MAX.<!--<ref name=MRO29aug2018>-->
The A321 has outsold the 737-900 three to one, as the A321neo is again dominating the 737-9 MAX, to be joined by the 737-10 MAX.<ref name=MRO29aug2018>{{cite news |url= http://aviationweek.com/asset-utilization/how-a320-overtook-737-and-mro-implications |title= How The A320 Overtook The 737, And MRO Implications |date= 29 August 2018 |author= Alex Derber |work= Aviation Week Network |access-date= 4 September 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180907044152/http://aviationweek.com/asset-utilization/how-a320-overtook-737-and-mro-implications |archive-date= 7 September 2018 |url-status = live}}</ref>

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* {{legend|green|[[#Orders and deliveries|Airbus A320 family deliveries]]<ref name="Airbus_Hist_OD">{{cite web |url=http://www.airbus.com/fileadmin/media_gallery/files/reports_results_reviews/Summary_Historial_Orders_Deliveries_1974-2009.xls |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223185526/http://www.airbus.com/fileadmin/media_gallery/files/reports_results_reviews/Summary_Historial_Orders_Deliveries_1974-2009.xls |archive-date=23 December 2010 |title = Historical Orders and Deliveries 1974–2009 |work=[[Airbus S.A.S.]] |date=January 2010 |format=Microsoft Excel |access-date=10 December 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Airbus_O_D"/>}}
* {{legend|blue|[[Boeing 737#Orders and deliveries|Boeing 737 series deliveries]]<ref name="Boeing_Hist_Deliveries">{{cite web |url=http://active.boeing.com/commercial/orders/displaystandardreport.cfm?&optReportType=HistAnnDel |title= Historical Deliveries |publisher=[[Boeing]] |date= December 2015 |access-date=5 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226093221/http://active.boeing.com/commercial/orders/displaystandardreport.cfm?&optReportType=HistAnnDel|archive-date=26 February 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Boeing_O-D/>}}
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===Maintenance===
[[A Check]]s are every 750 flight hours and structural inspections are at six- and 12-year intervals.<!--<ref name=MRO29aug2018>-->