What was the name of Airbus’s first production wide-body airliner?

Airbus’s first production wide-body airliner was the Airbus A300.

The A300 was developed by Airbus Industrie, the European consortium formed to compete with established American aircraft manufacturers. It combined a wide fuselage with two engines, a configuration that was unusual when the programme began because many wide-body aircraft used three or four engines.

The prototype first flew in 1972, and the aircraft entered commercial service with Air France in 1974. Its efficient two-engine layout helped establish the viability of twin-engine wide-body aircraft and gave Airbus experience in design, manufacturing and international airline support.

The A300 is sometimes confused with the A310 because the A310 was its smaller successor. It is also distinct from the A320, Airbus’s later narrow-body family. The A300’s designation therefore identifies both Airbus’s first production airliner and its first wide-body commercial jet.