Airbus A-300: This Is The Start Of Something Big (1968)

In 1968, a two-page advertisement in Aviation Week & Space Technology touted development of the world’s first twin-engined widebody airliner, the "A-300 European Airbus.”

Marketed by a partnership of France’s Sud Aviation, the U.K.’s Hawker Siddeley Aviation and Germany’s Deutsche Airbus, the ad pre-dated the creation of Airbus as a company in 1970.

The A-300 was touted as quiet, spacious, more efficient and twice as reliable as other airliners of the day. It first flew on Oct. 28, 1972 and entered service in 1974, a year later than originally envisioned.

“This is the start of something big,” the ad proclaimed. Indeed it was. 

This blog was first published on August 5, 2015