Airbus A310 The Airbus A310 is a medium - to long - range twin - engined wide - body jet airliner . Launched in July 1978 , it was the second aircraft to enter production by Airbus Industrie , the consortium of European aerospace companies which is now owned by EADS . The A310 is a shortened derivative of the A300 , the first twin - engined widebody airliner . History . Background . During the development of the original Airbus A300 , a range of aircraft size and capacity were studied ; the resulting Airbus A300B was one of the smaller options . When the A300B1 prototypes emerged , a number of airlines asked for greater capacity , which resulted in the initial production A300B2 version . As the A300 entered service , it became increasingly apparent that there was also a sizable market for a smaller aircraft ; some operators did not have enough traffic to justify the relatively large A300 , others wanted more frequency or lower aircraft - mile costs at the expense of higher seat - mile cost , ( specifically Swissair and Lufthansa ) . Airbus reduced the Research & Development costs of a smaller A300 to a minimum , studying several early projects called A300B10MC ( " M " inimum " C " hange ) . Capacity was reduced to 220 passengers , which was then a desired capacity from many airlines . However , this would result in a small fuselage mated to a comparatively large wing and oversized undercarriage , which would make the aircraft burn unnecessarily more fuel as it carries more weight . Another problem was the rate of inflation , which in the UK , during 1979 – 1980 , was 35 % . This would significantly raise the development costs , and thus the cost of the final product . During the A300 ' s development , Hawker Siddeley Aviation was the subcontractor for the aircraft ' s wing , after the British government withdrew from the newly formed venture in 1969 . HSA subsequently merged with three other companies in 1977 , and by then , the British government had indicated its intentions to rejoin the programme . However , British Airways ( BA ) and Rolls - Royce did not relinquish their will to collaborate with the Americans , and , in BA ' s case , buy US aircraft . BA wanted to buy 7N7 and 7X7 , which would develop into the Boeing 757 and 767 , with the latter an intended rival to the upcoming A310 , as well as the Boeing 747 . The French government started talks in May 1976 , saying that an order from BA was a condition for re - admission of the UK into Airbus Industrie as a full partner . As this went on , BAe held talks with Boeing and McDonnell Douglas to see if it ( BAe ) could participate in future programmes , although the company ' s chairman , Lord Beswick , publicly stated that the aim was really to collaborate in Europe . At the 1978 Farnborough Air Show , Eric Varley , the British Secretary of State for Industry , announced that BAe wished to rejoin the Airbus Industrie as a full partner from 1 January 1979 . This would mean BAe would be allocated 20 % shareholding and would play " a full part in the development and manufacturing of the A310 " . Design effort . From late 1977 , before the Varley announcement BAe started work on the new wing at Hatfield . Simultaneously , Aérospatiale , MBB ( " Messerschmitt - Bölkow - Blohm " ) and VFW - Fokker held their individual studies into the new wing . At the April 1978 Hanover Air Show , Airbus exhibited a model A310 . Its wing area , at was slightly larger than that studied , at ; its fuselage was 12 frames shorter than the A300 , accommodating typical passenger loads of 195 in two - class , or 245 in economy . However , during the next 12 months , almost every aspect was further refined . On 9 June 1978 , Swissair and Lufthansa developed a joint specification for the aircraft , and within a month , announced that they would place the launch orders . On 15 March , Swissair became the first airline to place a firm order for the type , announcing that it would acquire 10 with a further 10 under option to replace its McDonnell Douglas DC - 9 series 30s on its major intra - European routes . Lufthansa quickly placed a $ 240 million 10 - aircraft order . Air France and Iberia shortly followed . The increasingly strong interest in the aircraft , coupled with the recovery of the industry in the late 1970s , led Airbus to launch the A300B10 , now known as the A310 , into production on 7 July 1978 . On 1 April 1979 Lufthansa raised its commitment to 25 orders and 25 options . Two days later , KLM signed its order for 10 orders and 10 options at ₤238 million . On 6 July 1979 Air France raised its order from 4 to 35 . Other airlines announcing orders for the A310 during 1979 included Martinair , Sabena and Air Afrique . Initially , two versions of the A310 were planned , the regional A310 - 100 and the transcontinental A310 - 200 . The A310 - 100 had a range of with 200 passengers , whilst the - 200 had a higher MTOW and centre section fuel , and could carry the same load a further . Basic engines offered included the General Electric CF6 - 45B2 and Pratt & Whitney JT9D - 7R4 . Rolls Royce at one time considered offering an engine for the A310 but dropped the program . Production . The range of the A310 exceeds that of the A300 - series with the exception of the A300 - 600R , which surpasses the A310 - 200 . The A310 ' s greater range has led to the aircraft being used extensively on transatlantic routes . The A300 and A310 introduced the concept of commonality : A300 - 600 and A310 pilots can qualify for the other aircraft with one day of training . Sales of the A310 continued and by the time the prototype A310 - 200 aircraft made its first flight on 3 April 1982 , orders and options for 181 aircraft had been placed by 15 airlines worldwide , a somewhat better start than that of the original A300 . It was clear that the longer - range series −200 aircraft was the more popular aircraft and Airbus decided in 1979 to stop offering the low gross weight series A310 - 100 ( originally proposed for Lufthansa ) , none of which were built . Demand for the aircraft began to slacken and there were no new A310 passenger orders during the late 1990s , due to the introduction of the advanced technology Airbus A330 . The A310 ( along with the A300 ) ceased production in July 2007 , though five orders from Iraqi Airways remained on the books until July 2008 . The remaining freighter sales were to be fulfilled by the new A330 - 200F derivative . The A310 was marketed as an introduction to widebody operations for developing airlines . The A310 was replaced in Airbus ' lineup by the highly successful A330 - 200 , which shares its fuselage cross - section . Between 1983 and the last aircraft produced in 1998 , 255 A310s were delivered . The A300 and A310 established Airbus as a competitor to Boeing and allowed it to go ahead with the more ambitious A320 and A330 / A340 families . The A310 and the A300 officially ceased production in July 2007 although the last A310 delivery was in June 1998 . As of August 2010 , 255 A310s have been delivered , 193 of which are still in operation . Design . The A310 was a development of the A300 ; the aircraft was initially designated the A300B10 . Essentially a shortened A300 , the main differences in the two aircraft are : Flight deck . The aircraft has a two crew " glass " cockpit as standard using CRT displays in place of the more traditional instrumentation , and modern electronic systems . The A310 flight deck was incorporated into the A300 - 600 enabling a dual type rating to be achieved . The flight deck has provisions for third and fourth crew seats . Variants . The A310 is available in two basic versions , the medium range −200 and the longer range −300 . The first version of the aircraft to be developed was the −200 but this was later joined by the −300 which then became the standard production version of the aircraft . Operators . Military operators . The A310 has been used by the armed forces of the following countries : Deliveries . By the end of production a total of 255 A310s had been ordered and delivered . Specifications . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > 157 , 000 kg is standard for the −300 , 164 , 000 kg is an option . Aircraft model designations . " Source : French DGAC Type Certificate Data Sheet No . 145 "