Airbus

Airbus SE is a European aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Leiden, Netherlands, with major industrial operations in France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and other countries. The company designs, manufactures, and supports commercial aircraft, helicopters, defense systems, and space technology. Airbus originated as a consortium formed on 18/12/1970 under the name Airbus Industrie, created by French and West German aerospace companies to develop a European wide body airliner. The initiative followed a 29/05/1969 agreement between France and West Germany to launch the A300 program. The A300 made its first flight on 28/10/1972 and entered commercial service with Air France on 23/05/1974. In 2000, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company was established as the parent group of Airbus. In 2014, EADS was renamed Airbus Group, and in 2017 the company adopted the name Airbus SE. Airbus’ commercial aircraft division has produced several aircraft families across single aisle and wide body segments. The A320 family, launched in 1984 and first flown in 1987, introduced digital fly by wire controls to commercial aviation and has become one of the highest selling jetliner families in history. In the long haul segment, Airbus developed aircraft including the A330, first flown on 02/11/1992, the four engine A340, first flown on 25/10/1991, the A380, which made its first flight on 27/04/2005, and the A350 XWB, first flown on 14/06/2013. As of the early 2020s, Airbus employs more than 130,000 people worldwide and delivers hundreds of commercial aircraft annually. Final assembly lines for commercial aircraft are located in Toulouse, Hamburg, Tianjin, and Mobile, Alabama. In addition to commercial aviation, Airbus Helicopters and Airbus Defence and Space operate as key divisions within the company, covering rotorcraft, military aircraft, satellites, and launch systems. Airbus aircraft are operated by airlines on every continent, and the company competes globally in both civil and defense aerospace markets. #Airbus #AviationHistory #Aerospace #CommercialAviation #Europe