Swissair operated the first commercial Airbus A319 service in 1996.
The A319 is a shortened derivative of the Airbus A320. It keeps the A320 family's basic systems, cockpit, and fly-by-wire flight controls while carrying fewer passengers. This made it useful on routes where an A320 was larger than necessary but a regional jet offered too little capacity.
Swissair introduced the A319 in April 1996. The airline was an important early Airbus customer and helped establish the aircraft in scheduled passenger service.
The A319 is often confused with the A318, which is shorter still and entered service later. The A319 also differs from the A320 mainly in fuselage length rather than in overall aircraft concept. Its common pilot type rating with other A320-family aircraft helped airlines move crews between variants with limited additional training.