AIRBUS CELEBRATES 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS FIRST AIRCRAFT PROGRAMME

KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 (Bernama) -- Airbus today celebrates the 40th
anniversary of the Franco-German agreement which launched its first ever
aircraft programme, the A300.

On May 29, 1969, the French Minister of Transport Jean Chamant and the
German Minister of Economic Affairs, Karl Schiller, signed an agreement for the
joint-development of the A300 aircraft, a first European twin-aisle twin-engine
jet for medium-haul air travel.

This historic event took place during the Paris Air Show at Le
Bourget.

The launch of the A300 programme marked the first milestone in Airbus'
successful history and set the foundation for today's vision and strategy.

Tom Enders, Airbus president and chief executive officer recalled that 40
years ago, the commercial jet aircraft market was entirely dominated by the
United States.

"Giving the go-ahead for the A300 was a bold strategic decision.
The pioneering spirit of our engineers, as well as Airbus' continuous strive for
innovation and international cooperation, has made us a global market leader.

"At the same time, Airbus is a symbol of successful European cooperation,"
he said in a statement here today.

The A300 revolutionized the civil aviation sector.

Dubbed "the profit machine'" the A300 was the first twin-aisle, twin-engine
short/medium haul aircraft.It offered for the first time all the
amenities and assets of long-range aircraft such as a wide-body comfort, low
noise levels, low fuel consumption and low operating costs.

Based on the successful idea, Airbus developed its first family of
aircraft, the A300/A310 and their respective freighter derivatives.

The A300/A310 Family set completely new standards that were adopted on all
modern civil aircraft later on.

In total, Airbus had built 822 A300/A310 Family aircraft, while the original
business case only saw 300 aircraft to be built.

The A300 was delivered to over 80 customers.

Over the years, these aircraft have flown more than 30 million flight-hours
and have taken off more than 15 million times.

Today, more than 620 aircraft are still in operation.

The A300 programme was also the starting point of a successful European
cooperation.
-- BERNAMA