European aircraft manufacturer that is the world's second largest maker of commercial aircraft (after Boeing Co. ).
It is co-owned by the German-French-Spanish BAE Systems , with 20%. Airbus was formed as a consortium in 1970 by French and German aerospace firms (later joined by Spanish and British companies) to fill a market niche for short-to medium-range, high-capacity jetliners and to compete with long-established American manufacturers. Its first product, the A300, entered service in 1974. It was the first wide-body jetliner equipped with only two engines for more economical operation. The twin-engine A320 (entered service 1988) incorporated numerous technical innovations, notably fly-by-wire (electric rather than mechanically linked), computer-based flight controls. The four-engine A340 (1993) and smaller, twin-engine A330 (1994) were long-range airliners. In 2000 Airbus launched development of the A380, intended to be the world's largest passenger jet with a typical seating of 555 people. The consortium integrated into a single company in 2001.