AIRBUS is 30 years old. In was on 28 October 1972 that an A300, called B1, to differentiate from the production B2, took to the air, the culmination of a European dream to compete with the USA in terms of civil aircraft. That dream has now been realised with Airbus, an independent company 80% owned by EADS and 20% BAE SYSTEMS, taking around 50% of the market. On 28 October 2002 the 1,832 A320 family aircraft was delivered. In total 183 customers have received 3,043 aircraft with the order book standing at a massive 4,535.
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