The Airbus A320 family is one of the most common aircraft types currently in service. With more than 11,000 aircraft in operation, the narrow-body aircraft series is widely regarded as a commercial success. However, of the four variants in the series, one did not earn fame as much as its siblings. In fact, only 80 were built due to its low demand.

The A320 Family

The Airbus A320 family is a series of four narrowbody jets designed and manufactured by Airbus. The Airbus A320 was introduced on 18 April 1988, with Air France as the launch customer. Since then, multiple variants of the Airbus A320 have been launched. The longer A321 was introduced to service on 27 January 1994, while the shorter A319 was introduced in 1996. In 2003, an even shorter version of the A320 — shorter than the already-shortened A319 — was unveiled: the Airbus A318.

Airbus A318: A Project Gone Wrong

In May 1997, Aviation Industries of China (AVIC), Singapore Technologies Aerospace (STAe), Airbus, and Alenia wanted to produce a new, smaller-sized aircraft with a seating capacity of 105-125 passengers and 2,300 miles (3,700 kilometers) of range. However, AVIC wanted a larger aircraft, while airlines wanted a smaller 70-80 passenger aircraft. As negotiations fell through, STAe withdrew from the project following questions regarding whether the deal was worthwhile. Just two months later, in July 1997, the program was cancelled. However, despite the lack of support from the AVIC and STAe firms, Airbus decided to continue the project on its own. This aircraft eventually became the Airbus A318.

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