	The Airbus A300B was the first product of a consortium involving the major aerospace companies of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. It was designed for relatively short range, high density routes. Development was funded, controversially, by loans from several of the affected governments; though these have now been repaid. Seating up to 330 people, about 250 were built before it was superseded in production by the more modern and versatile A330 / A340 series. This A300B (9V-STA) of Singapore Airlines was demonstrated at Farnborough in September 1980.
	The Airbus A310 is a short-fuselage, long range development of the A300. It first flew in April 1982. Seating up to 280 (at a squeeze), it can cruise at over 500mph for up to 5,700 miles. It can be powered by Pratt & Whitney JT9D or 4150 series engines or General Electric CF6s of between 48 and 56 thousand pounds. 260 had been built before it was superseded by the A330 and production ended. This one, operated by the German government, was at Fairford in July 2005
	The Airbus A318 and 319 are short-fuselage developments of the A320. The 318, which is 103 feet 2 inches long, seats up to 115; the 319, 111 feet long, up to 140. The 319 was the first to fly, in August 1995, with the 318 following in January 2002. They can be powered by CFM56 engines, or Pratt & Whitney 6000s (for the 318) or IAE V2500s (for the 319). They compete with the short-fuselage versions of the Boeing 737. At the time of writing (March 2006) they are still in production; 1,273 of the 319 have been ordered, plus 82 of the A318. This A318 was at Paris - Charles de Gaulle, July 2005.
	The Airbus A320 was the third product from the Airbus consortium, and their first narrow-bodied airliner. It was designed specifically to compete with the Boeing 737, whose operating economics were making it almost the only viable choice in its class. The A320 has an advanced computerised (`fly-by-wire') control system which makes it very efficient when operated properly. It first flew in 1987, since when it has been increasingly successful. This A320, operated by Air China, was pictured at Seoul in July 2005.
	The Airbus A330 shares the majority of its airframe with the four-engined A340, but is optimised for shorter range. Having only two engines to lift a similar weight (606,000lb), the engines are of course bigger: 64 to 73 thousand pounds thrust, either General Electric CF6s, Pratt & Whitney 4160 series or Rolls-Royce Trents. It can take up to 440 people at a squeeze, but more normally 290, for up to 7,350 miles at a cruising speed of 535mph. It first flew in November 1992, since when 571 have been ordered (up to March 2006). This one was pictures at Seoul in July 2005.
	The Airbus A340 was developed concurrently with the A330 but is optimised for longer range. Its four CFM56 engines develop about 32,000lb thrust, giving it a cruising speed of 545mph and a maximum range of almost 10,000 miles (for the long range series 500). The fuselage is normally the same as the A330, but there is also a stretched version, the series 600, 247 feet long as opposed to the more normal 194 feet 10 inches, and seating 370 in a three-class layout. This beast is powered by Rolls Royce Trent engines of around 55,000lb thrust, and has a maximum weight of over 800,000lb. This picture is of a series 600 operated by China Eastern, at a very wet Seoul in July 2005.
	The Airbus Super Transporter is a converted A300 with an outsize cargo hold, able to fit entire sets of airbus components such as wings. This allows the Airbus consortium to move large components rapidly between its factories in different countries. Until the ST arrived in 1998, all Airbus components had been carried by elderly converted Boeing Stratocruisers called Guppies (see the American airliners section) - hardly the best advertisement for Airbus! This ST is seen at the Farnborough Air Show in 1998. Note the Royal Air Force Aerobatic team, the `Red Arrows', passing behind.
	The ATR42 is built by a European consortium called Avions Transport Regionnel, comprising Aerospatiale of France and Aeritalia of Italy. It was designed to seat 42 passengers (some airlines try to cram more in, but this is unwise). It first flew in August1984. Its efficient Pratt & Whitney PW120 turboprops give it a cost advantage over the earlier Dart-powered regional airliners, and the ATR42 remains very popular with operators. This example (F-ODUE), belonging to Air Tahiti, was seen at Papaeete in September 1988. Note also the Caravelle in the background.
	The BAC / Aerospatiale Concorde is one of the most remarkable aircraft in history. First flying in March 1969, it was just beaten as the world's first supersonic airliner by the Russian Tupolev Tu144, but the Concorde was the only one of the two to reach successful operation. It reached Mach 2.2 (2.2 times the speed of sound) at an altitude of 51,000 feet. Among hundreds of engineering innovations, it included a drooping nose so that the pilot could see where he was going when approaching the runway to land. Thanks to political intervention on grounds of noise, only twelve Concordes ever entered service: with British Airways and Air France. This BA example was seen at London Heathrow in August 1979. They were withdrawn from service in 2003; one of two examples of record-breaking aircraft with no feasible successor being relegated prematurely to museums (the other being the Lockheed SR71).