From the early days of Airbus Industrie, it was always the meaning of producing a family of products. It's A300 had taken on aircraft like the L1011 and DC-10, while it's A310 was a competitor to the Boeing 757 and 767. The next gap that needed to be filled was the single aisle, shorter-range jetliners such as the McDonnell Douglas MD 80 and Boeing 737. Especially the Boeing 737-300. Instead of designing an A300 derivative, Airbus decided to produce an all new design, and for more than a decad studies concentrated on an single aisle, not wide-body aircraft. At last in March 1984 the aircraft was launced as the Airbus A320. Initially Airbus planned three variants, each with various fuselage lengths. Eventually Airbus settled on two, a 130/140 seater the A320-100 and a 150/160 seater the A320-200. However by the time of launch only one fuselage length was offered, with a layout for 150 passengers.

Airbus sold the aircraft on basis of its revolutionary technology, which dramatically reduced operating costs. No aircraft in history has simultaneously incorporated more new technology than the A320, although the aircraft's external appearance was entirly conservative. The wings are fully supercritical with a sweepback of only 25° and tip fences (delta winglets) like small versions on those featured on the A310. The flight controls are entirely actuated by fly-by-wire (FBW), with a five computer style, quadruplex Thomson CSF Sfena digital flight control system (FCS) giving automatic gust protection alleviation and unprecedented protection throughout the flight envelope. The aircraft cannot be stalled, overspeeded or overstressed, and there is considerable protection against windshear.

Large parts of the primary structure are made of composite material, and there is also extensive use of advanced aluminum alloys. The Cockpit had almost no traditional dial instruments, and no familiar yoke in front of the pilot, who flies with a small sidestick which gives him/her an unimpended view of the large colour displays. Pilots flying the aircraft have a fold out table at the position where a yoke is on other planes. This is very popular as it actually give the pilots a way of eating a decent meal witout having it in the lap, it also makes it easier for the pilots to do paperwork during the flight.

The passenger cabin width was set at 3,7m (12ft 1in) significantly wider than any other single-aisle aircraft on the market, giving spacious seating for 150 or 179 in single-class layout. Containerised cargo can be loaded through the widest underfloor doors on any single-aisle aircraft. Customers have a choice of twin wheel or bogie main undercarriage (only Indian Airlines opted for the bogie version), and a heavier, longer range version with a centre section tank and winglets (the A320-200) quickly became the standard. Only 21 of the lightweight A320-100 were built following launch orders from Air France and British Caledonian. The A320 was launched with CFM56-5 engines rated at 104.5kN (23,500lb) st, the first of the line flying on February 22, 1987. Deliveries (to Ansett Australia the launch customer, and later to Air Inter, Air Lanka, Cyprus Airways, Dragonair, Indian Airlines and Northwest) began in March 1988. Aircraft delivered to British Caledonian were eventually absorbed by British Airways, which since privatisation have been a fierce supporter of Boeing equipment, and which had failed to order the indigenous European alternative until the order for the A319.

In 1989 the V2500-A1 powered the A320-200 series. Perhaps the greatest tribute to Airbus came in May 1994, when Boeing tried to aquire a second-hand A320 to display in Seatlle to motivate its workforce and familiarise them with the opposition.

Airbus Website