The Airbus A318 is the smallest member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. It is sometimes referred to as the "Baby Bus".

To build this single-aisle aircraft, Airbus shortened the A320 to a length of 103' 2" (31.44m). The closely related Airbus A319 is a bit longer, at 111' 0" (33.84m).

However, the tail on the A318, at 41' 2", is taller than the tail on the A319, A320 and A321 (38' 7") to provide extra stability on its relatively short, fat fuselage.

The A318 carries up to 132 passengers and has a maximum range of 3,100 nm (5,700 km; 3,600 mi). Final assembly of the aircraft takes place in Hamburg, Germany.

A total of 80 A318 airliners were delivered between 2003 and 2013. Fleet estimates in 2020 show about 65 remain in service. So spotting an A318 is becoming a more rare experience.

Spotters Guide for the Airbus A318

Shown below is a side-by-side comparison of the Airbus A318 and Airbus A319. While the A318 is shorter than the A319 in length, the A318 has a taller tail to provide extra stability for the relatively short fuselage. Both the A318 and A319 have fore and aft cabin doors, plus one emergency exit over the wing. The A318 has 11 windows in front of the emergency exit, while the A319 has 13 windows.

As seen in the image below, the A318 features the typical Airbus "rounded nose", a windshield which is straight across the bottom, and its rear windshield window "notched" at the top.

The Airbus A318 also has one over-the-wing emergency exit, as does the A319. The A320 has two emergency exits over the wing. For more information on the A320 family, visit the official website of Airbus Commercial Aircraft

 

Airbus A318 Photographs

Air France Airbus A318

 

British Airways Airbus A318