Know the Fleet

Airbus 320- truly a one of its kind aircraft, and one of the most successful airliners in the medium range narrow body segment. This airliner entered into active service in the year 1988 and became a trend setter. This aircraft introduced concepts like glass cockpit and fly-by-wire to commercial aviation. 5961 A-320s have been built till February 2014. So if you are flying on some short-medium range sector, chances are pretty high that you are in one of these.




Boeing 737, the flagship of the American aerospace giant, entered service in the year 1966 and is acclaimed as the workhorse of the aviation industry. B-737 has had many variants since its entry into service, and with every variant came cooler looks and fancier features. Today there are approximately 7,936 B-737 in service across the globe. This airliner falls in the category of short-medium range narrow body aircraft. Powered by two turbofan engines, this guy can reach top speed of upto 820 km/h.

"Queen of the skies", Boeing 747 was the first commercial airliner to have a twin deck. Propelled by four turbofan engines, this bird was truly the Jumbo Jet of its time. Entering service in 1968, this aeroplane redefined the luxuries of air travel.

Airbus 380 is the largest commercial airliner in the world today. With capacity of 800 + people in single seating configuration, this aircraft is massive, mighty and powerful. Powered by four Rolce Royce RR Trent 900 engine this giant can fly at speeds of Mach 0.89. The airliner is a stepping stone towards many innovations in the field of avionics and aero structures.

Boeing 777, considered to be one of the safest and most advanced aircraft in the sky today. This airliner has the reputation of having the largest turbofan engines in terms of diameter. A wide body aircraft, used for long haul flights, 777 entered into service in 1997. 

Airbus Beluga, the freighter from Airbus industrie is a modified A-300. It is used by Airbus to carry airplane parts such as wings, fuselage, Stabilisers etc from their manufacturing unit different countries to the Airbus assembly line in Tolouse, France.  Notice the unusually large horizontal stabilisers (fins near the tail). They are made that way to compensate for the nose heavy configuration of the airplane, when it is loaded. 

Concorde-the fastest commercial airliner ever built. This plane could fly at speed of 2 Mach and cover the distance between Paris and New York in just over three hours. This one looks more like a fighter jet than an commercial airliner with its delta (triangular) wings, pointed nose and rear mounted engines under the wings. Sadly this plane was taken out of service in 2003 due to environmental considerations and noise pollution.