The Airbus A310 is a short to medium range widebody airliner
developed from the Airbus A300 and manufactured by Airbus
Industrie. Perhaps the greatest attribute of the A310 is that of
range. The A310-300's range exceeds all A300 models and the -200
exceeds all A300 models in range except the A300-600. This
quality has led to the aircraft being used extensively on
transatlantic routes. The A300 and A310 introduced the concept
of commonality which has become one of the Airbus family's
greatest marketing points in that A300-600 and A310 pilots can
qualify for the other aircraft with only one day of training.
The aircraft was formally launched in July 1978 for Lufthansa
and Swissair. A further development of the A300, the aircraft
was initially designated the A300 B10. Essentially a "baby"
A300, the main differences in the two -Shortened fuselage - same
cross section, providing capacity of about 200. -Redesigned wing
- designed by British Aerospace who rejoined Airbus consortium
-Smaller vertical stabilizer The A