Airbus S.A.S.

European aircraft manufacturer that is the world's second largest maker of commercial aircraft (after Boeing Co.). It is co-owned by the German-French-Spanish European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), with an 80 interest, and Britain's BAE Systems, with 20. Airbus was formed as a consortium in 1970 by French and German aerospace firms (later joined by Spanish and British companies) to fill a market niche for short- to medium-range, high-capacity jetliners and to compete with long-established American manufacturers. Its first product, the A300, entered service in 1974. It was the first wide-body jetliner equipped with only two engines for more economical operation. The twin-engine A320 (entered service 1988) incorporated numerous technical innovations, notably fly-by-wire (electric rather than mechanically linked), computer-based flight controls. The four-engine A340 (1993) and smaller, twin-engine A330 (1994) were long-range airliners. In 2007 Airbus launched the A380, the world's largest airliner, with a standard seating of 555 people and a maximum capacity of 853.