The Airbus A310 was the first Airbus aircraft to receive wingtip fences as a production feature.
Wingtip fences are vertical or near-vertical surfaces installed at the ends of wings. They help reduce the strength of wingtip vortices and can improve aerodynamic efficiency, particularly during cruise. The A310 used them as part of its aerodynamic design rather than as a later retrofit concept.
The A310 was a shorter-fuselage development of the A300 and introduced several improvements, including a redesigned cockpit and greater use of advanced materials. Its wingtip-fence arrangement became visually associated with the aircraft.
Later Airbus types adopted other forms of wingtip devices. The A320 family is especially known for blended winglets on many aircraft, while newer designs such as the A350 use curved wingtip structures. These are related aerodynamic devices, but they are not identical to the A310’s wingtip fences.