A-318-121 Civil airliner 1/144 Eastern Express 14441

A-318-121 Civil airliner
1/144 scale plastic model kit
Eastern Express 14441

Manufacturer: Eastern Express (Russia)
Scale: 1/144
Material: Plastic
Paint: Unpainted, Unassembled, Kit do not contain paints and glue.
Condition: New in Box

The Airbus A318 is the smallest member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie. The A318 carries up to 132 passengers and has a maximum range of 3,100 nmi (5,700 km; 3,600 mi). Final assembly of the aircraft takes place in Toulouse, France.

The aircraft shares a common type rating with all other Airbus A320 family variants, allowing existing A320 family pilots to fly the aircraft without the need for further training. It is the largest commercial aircraft certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency for steep approach operations, allowing flights at airports such as London City.

The A318 entered service in July 2003 with Frontier Airlines. Relative to other Airbus A320 family variants, it has sold in only small numbers with total orders for only 81 aircraft placed as of 30 November 2012 and after subsequent cancellations and one final delivery in 2013 the order book is now empty with 79 aircraft delivered.

The aircraft was first named A319M5 in as early as March 1995, as an A319 derivative with fuselage shortening of 0.79 metres (2 ft 7 in) ahead of the wing and 1.6 metres (5 ft 3 in) behind. The final proposal was for a 107-passenger two-class layout, and a range of 3,350 kilometres (1,810 nmi), or 6,850 kilometres (3,700 nmi) with upcoming Sharklets.^[ The aircraft's production took advantage of laser welding, eliminating the necessity for heavy rivets and bolts. Overall, the A318 is over six metres shorter and around 3 t (6,600 lb) lighter than the A320. To compensate for the reduced moment arm it has a larger vertical stabiliser, making it 75 centimetres (30 in) taller than the other A320 variants. Pilots who are trained on the other variants may fly the A318 with no further certification, since it features a common flight deck and the same type rating as its sister aircraft.

The A318 is available with a variety of different maximum take-off weights (MTOW) ranging from a 59 tonne, 2,750 km (1,500 nautical mile) base model to a 68 tonne, 6,000 km (3,240 nmi) version. The lower MTOW enables it to operate regional routes economically while sacrificing range and the higher MTOW allows it to complement other members of the A320 family on marginal routes. The lighter weight of the A318 gives it an operating range 10% greater than the A320, allowing it to serve some routes that the A320 would be unable to: London - New York, Perth–Auckland and Singapore–Tokyo, for instance. Its main use for airlines, however, is on short, low-density hops between medium-sized cities.

During the design process, the A318 encountered several problems. The first one was the decline in demand for new aircraft following the September 11 attacks. Another was the new Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines, which burned more fuel than expected; by the timeCFM International (CFM) had a more efficient engine ready for market, many A318 customers had already backed out, including Air China and British Airways. America West Airlines, which had selected the Pratt & Whitney engines, amended its A318 orders, opting instead for A319 or A320 aircraft. Trans World Airlines cancelled a significant order for fifty A318s after being acquired by American Airlines, which does not operate any A320 family aircraft (although neither did TWA when the order was originally placed). While Airbus was hoping to market the A318 as a regional jet alternative, laws in both the U.S. and Europe have kept it in the same class as larger aircraft for calculating charges such as landing fees, limiting the type's market potential.

The aircraft is powered by two CFM56-5 or Pratt & Whitney PW6000 engines with thrust ratings of between 96 and 106 kilonewtons (21,600 and 23,800 lbf). Launch customers Frontier Airlines and Air France took deliveries in 2003, with Frontier receiving its aircraft in July of that year. The list price of an A318 ranges from $56 to $62 million, and operating costs are between $2,500 and $3,000 for each flight hour.

Orders for the A318 have been relatively slow, but better than for its direct competitor the Boeing 737–600. At 30 September 2011, Airbus had received 81 orders for this model compared to 69 for the 737-600.The sales pace has been influenced by the strong sales of the Bombardier CRJ900 and Embraer E-Jets series. The biggest A318 customers are Air France with 18; Frontier Airlines, 10 (+ 1 order); Avianca, 10, LAN Airlines, 20 orders; and Mexicana, 10 orders.

A318
Role	Narrow-body jet airliner
National origin	Multi-national
Manufacturer	Airbus
First flight	15 January 2002
Introduction	2003 with Frontier Airlines
Status	In service
Primary users	Air France Avianca Avianca Brazil
Produced	2002–present
Number built	79 as of June 2013
Unit cost	US$70.1 million, €53 million (2013)
Developed from	Airbus A320