Which airline was the launch customer for the Airbus A300?

Air France was the launch customer for the Airbus A300.

The French airline placed the A300 into commercial service on 23 May 1974, operating the first passenger flight between Paris and London. This made Air France the first airline to use the new European wide-body aircraft in scheduled service.

The A300 was Airbus’s first production airliner and was designed around a then-unusual combination: two engines and a wide-body cabin. Its launch helped establish Airbus as a serious competitor to established American manufacturers.

Air France is sometimes confused with the airlines that became early operators of later Airbus types. For the A300 specifically, its first commercial operation and launch-customer status belong to Air France.