With the Airbus A300, some interesting departures from U.S.-designed aircraft immediately stood out. Instead of the typical three-engine composition common in the 60s, the A300 only had two jet engines, one underneath each wing. While this gave less thrust than the A300’s competitors, it also made the plane much lighter, offering more efficiency during travel.
Another difference between the A300 and its rivals was a wider fuselage, with engineers repositioning the passenger cabin floor to accommodate cargo underneath. With the ability to transport both people and cargo, the Airbus A300 enhanced the airline’s earning ability with each flight. The wider fuselage also enabled a greater passenger capacity of up to 266 people versus the Lockheed TriStar 500’s 230. Even the much larger McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-30 could only transport 250 people safely, so the Airbus A300 was quite a step forward. If you think that’s impressive, the later-developed Airbus A380 was the largest passenger aircraft to date, carrying up to 555 passengers.
