Hab ich eben auf Airbus.com gefunden, direkt auf der 1. Seite :D
500th A320 FAMILY AIRCRAFT ENTERS NORTH AMERICAN MARKET
29 June 2001
Airbus and its customers throughout North America reached a new milestone today as the 500th A320 family aircraft destined for the North American market was delivered to United Airlines. The airline took delivery of the A319 at Airbus’ Hamburg, Germany facilities. This addition brings United’s fleet to 115 aircraft out of a total of nearly 200 A319s and A320s ordered by the U.S. carrier.
The A320 Family serves a wide range of airlines in both the United States and Canada, including Air Canada, America West, Canada 3000, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Northwest Airlines, Skyservice and US Airways. In 1996, Airbus delivered approximately one aircraft per month to its North American customers. In 2000, that number increased to about two aircraft per week.
Following the success of Airbus’ A320 family on the market place, production rates for the entire Family are being steadily ramped up, from a current 23 aircraft per month, to 30 per month by 2003. Airbus seeks out the best suppliers from around the globe and now works with over 1,500 vendors in 30 countries. In the United States, Airbus does business with 800 companies in 40 states while contributing more than $5 billion to the U.S. economy each year.
The A320 Family comprises four versions of aircraft all based on the same fundamental design: the 107-seat A318, the 124-seat A319, the 150-seat A320 and the 185-seat A321. A320 aircraft are assembled in Toulouse, France while the remainder of the family is assembled in Hamburg. The first A318, the newest member of the family, is approaching the final assembly phase with entry-into-service scheduled for late 2002.
Airbus' A320 Family aircraft offers the widest fuselage in the single-aisle category, enabling passengers to benefit from wider seats and aisles. The members of this aircraft family share maximum commonality and the same type rating, allowing airlines to minimize maintenance and training costs while maximizing operational flexibility.
Headquartered in Toulouse (France), Airbus is an EADS joint Company with BAE SYSTEMS.