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Airbus A300

Airbus · Widebody · Out of production (2007) — in service

The first Airbus.

Length54.08 m
Wingspan44.84 m
Range7,500 km
MTOW172 t
Typical seats266
Built561
Our numbers

Derived metrics

Computed by aircraft.fyi from the core specification — see how we calculate these.

Seats per metre#9 of 35
4.92 seats/m typical seats ÷ fuselage length
Range per tonne#44 of 65
43.7 km/t maximum range ÷ MTOW in tonnes
Span-to-length ratio#44 of 68
0.83 wingspan ÷ fuselage length
Weight per metre#29 of 68
3.17 t/m MTOW ÷ fuselage length
Range in hours#26 of 65
8.4 h maximum range ÷ cruise speed
Weight per seat#20 of 35
645 kg MTOW ÷ typical seats
Sense of scale

How big is it, really?

The Airbus A300's wingspan, against things you already know the size of.

Airbus A30044.84 m
Football pitch (width)68 m
Blue whale25 m
New Routemaster bus11.2 m
You (probably)1.75 m
Specification

The numbers

Length (A300-600)54.08 m
Wingspan44.84 m
Height16.62 m
MTOW (-600R)171,700 kg
Range (-600R)7,500 km
Typical seats266 (2-class)
Engines2 × GE CF6-80C2 or PW4158
First flight28 October 1972
Built561

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Put the Airbus A300 next to something

Last verified: 2026-07-14 · Spot an error? business@luck.fyi

The story

What makes it different

Every Airbus traces back to this one. The A300 was the bet a new European consortium made in 1972: the world's first twin-engine widebody, at a time when Boeing said widebodies needed three or four engines. Early sales were so bad Airbus lent aircraft to Eastern Air Lines for free — then the fuel-efficient twin logic became the entire future of the industry.

The A300-600R matured it, and its cross-section proved perfect for containers: FedEx and UPS built enormous fleets, and the A300-600ST Beluga carried Airbus's own parts for 25 years.

Passenger A300s are nearly gone, but the freighters thunder on every night — over a hundred still working the parcel networks, half a century after the aircraft that started everything first flew.

Common questions

Airbus A300 — the short answers

How fast is the Airbus A300?
The Airbus A300 cruises at about 897 km/h — roughly 484 knots, or 557 mph.
How far can the Airbus A300 fly?
The Airbus A300 has a maximum range of about 7,500 km (4,050 nautical miles, 4,661 miles). At its cruise speed that is roughly 8.4 hours in the air.
How many people does the Airbus A300 carry?
A typical Airbus A300 carries 266 passengers. Exact figures vary with the operator's chosen configuration.
Is the Airbus A300 still in production?
Status: Out of production (2007) — in service. The Airbus A300 first flew in 1972, and about 561 have been built.
How big is the Airbus A300?
The Airbus A300 is 54.08 m long with a wingspan of 44.84 m and a height of 16.62 m. Its maximum takeoff weight is 171,700 kg.
Variants

The Airbus A300 line

A300B2 / B4
The originals — the world's first widebody twin.
A300-600 / -600R
The definitive version. Spec shown above.
A300-600ST Beluga
The original outsize transporter.
A300F / P2F
The freighters that keep the type alive.
Operators

Who flies the Airbus A300

The top 4 operators by fleet size, of ≈15 worldwide — the rest are aggregated below. Counts marked ≈ are approximate, verified 2026-07-14.

FXFedEx ExpressThe largest A300 fleet in the world — all -600 freighters.≈65 5XUPS AirlinesA300-600Fs bought new — the last A300s ever built.52
DEEuropean Air Transport (DHL)≈20
IRIranian operatorsA handful of passenger A300s remain in service.≈15
Other operatorsA tail of freight, charter and government operators worldwide.≈30