IATA 318ICAO A318

Airbus A318

Airbus

TravelerPulse profile

The smallest member of the Airbus A320 family.

First flight

2002

Category

Narrow-body jet

Seating

107–132 passengers

Range

5,750 km

Engines

Two CFM International CFM56-5 or Pratt & Whitney PW6000 turbofans

Status

In service

The Airbus A318 is the smallest variant of the A320 narrow-body family, seating up to 132 passengers in a single-class configuration. It shares a high degree of commonality with its larger siblings—the A319, A320, and A321—allowing airlines to operate it with the same pilot type rating and ground support infrastructure. The aircraft was designed to serve thin routes and smaller markets where larger jets would be uneconomical. Despite its technological credentials and operational flexibility, the A318 attracted limited commercial interest, with fewer than 80 aircraft delivered before production effectively ceased. One notable application was British Airways' use of the A318 on a transatlantic business-class-only service between London City Airport and New York JFK, exploiting the type's ability to operate from shorter runways.

Notable operators

Air France and Avianca were among the largest operators, while British Airways operated a small fleet on transatlantic routes.

Notable facts

›Shortest fuselage variant of the A320 family, approximately 31.4 metres long.
›British Airways operated a business-class-only transatlantic service via Shannon using the A318.
›The PW6000 engine option experienced development difficulties and saw limited adoption.
›Fewer than 80 aircraft were delivered in total, making it the least commercially successful A320 family member.
›Pilots qualified on any A320 family variant can fly the A318 without a separate type rating.