This year marks the 30th anniversary of the first flight of the Airbus A319
. Since the first example took to the gunmetal grey skies above Hamburg in 1995, Airbus has gone on to produce more than 1,500 units of the variant.

Current fleet data from ch-aviation shows that nearly 900 examples remain active today, spread across over 80 global carriers. So, as we celebrate its anniversary, let’s take a closer look at the petite side of Airbus’ A320 program, and which airlines continue to be the largest operators of the type.

An American Airlines Airbus A319, registered N8031M, lands at La Romana (LRM) in the Dominican Republic

Photo: La Romana Airport

The development of the A319

The A319’s origin story begins with Airbus’ A320 program, which was launched in 1984 and first flew in February 1987. The A320 family pioneered the use of digital fly-by-wire systems and side-stick controls and was an immediate success as a competitor to the Boeing 737 family. Within the first five years, it had thousands of orders and hundreds of deliveries, and it even made inroads into Boeing’s ‘backyard,’ where all the major US carriers placed orders.

By 1992, the stretched A321 was entering production, and at the request of Steven Udvar-Hazy, the former president and CEO of ILFC, Airbus began looking at a smaller variant. Initially called the A320M-7 (meaning A320 minus seven fuselage frames), the concept called for a shortened fuselage, minimum change derivative with 130-140 seats to provide direct competition to the Boeing 737-300 and -700.

Hamburg

Photo: Airbus

The ‘shrink’ of the A320 was achieved by removing four fuselage frames fore and three aft the wing, cutting the overall length by 3.73 meters (12 ft 3 in), and making its wingspan wider than its length. The number of overwing exits was also reduced from four to two (although four were retained for high-density A319s such as the 156-seat aircraft used by easyJet).

Furthermore, minor software changes were made to accommodate the different handling characteristics. However, in all other respects, the aircraft is largely unchanged. With virtually the same fuel capacity as the A320-200 and fewer passengers, the range of the A319 was extended up to 6,850 km (3,700 NM).

A319

Photo: Airbus

The launch and growth of the A319

Airbus began offering the A319 in May 1992 and, following initial orders from ILFC, Swissair, and Alitalia, officially launched the program in 1993. By March 1995, the first A319 underwent final assembly at Airbus’ German plant in Hamburg and was rolled out on August 24th, 1995, with the maiden flight the following day.

As it was a variant of the A320 with extensive commonality, the certification program only took 350 airborne hours involving two aircraft, and certification was granted in early April 1996. The first delivery to launch customer Swissair took place on April 25th, 1996, and the aircraft entered into service by the month’s end.

Swissair A319

Airbus has gone on to produce multiple variants of the A319:

  • A319-100: Also referred to as the A319ceo (current engine option), 1,484 examples of the base version of the aircraft have been manufactured. It remained in production until 2021, with the last aircraft delivered to Tibet Airlines that year.
  • ACJ319: The ACJ (Airbus Corporate Jet) version is produced for governments and private customers. Airbus data indicates that a total of 77 of this variant have been produced. The ACJ incorporates removable extra fuel tanks which can extend the range up to 11,100 km (6,000 NM).
  • A319LR: A longer-range version of the A319, the A319LR was designed for premium-heavy operations and had a typical range of up to 8,300 km (4,500 NM). Qatar Airways, PrivatAir and Eurofly all acquired two of the type, and operated them with limited success.
  • A319neo: The upgraded version of the A319 includes aerodynamic refinements, large curved winglets (‘sharklets’), weight savings, a new cabin with larger hand luggage spaces, and an improved air purification system. However, it has seen limited sales success compared to its A320neo and A321neo stablemates.

Related

What Happened To Qatar Airways’ All Business Class Airbus A319LR?

The largest operators of the A319

The A319 has proven to be an ideal fit for thinner short-haul missions, allowing airlines to deploy it as an up-gauge from regional jets, or to prove out new routes. Its enduring popularity has led to it being ordered or operated by more than 80 different airlines, so despite it now reaching ‘middle age,’ the A319 is still ever-present at most major airports.

Brussels Airlines Airbus A319s and A320ceos lined up

Photo: Brussels Airlines

The largest operators of the A319 are as follows:

Top 10 largest operators of the A319: January 2025

Operator

Number in service

Average age

American Airlines

133

20.8

easyJet

82

16.2

United Airlines

81

23.2

Delta Air Lines

57

22.9

LATAM

40

16.5

Allegiant Air

34

19.4

China Eastern

33

11.4

Eurowings

28

16.1

Air China

27

18.0

British Airways

27

22.5

American Airlines: The largest A319 fleet

It is fitting that the airline with the world’s largest fleet overall also has the largest fleet of A319s. American Airlines operates 133 A319s, which have come to the airline via various paths. It inherited 66 of the aircraft via its acquisition of US Airways, one of the original purchasers of the variant. It also purchased 32 examples directly and has been acquiring second-hand aircraft, such as ex-Frontier Airlines A319s when they were retired.

American Airlines Airbus A319-112 (N723UW) at the gate at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Photo: BCFC | Shutterstock

Vasu Raja, when he was still head of network planning at American Airlines, explained the logic of taking this opportunistic approach:

“One of our hidden advantages is that we are the largest operator of the A319, so adding more of the type to the fleet is very cost-effective. As more Airbus A220s come online, the market value of the A319s is being lowered, as many of them are aging out of their initial lease terms. So that creates a unique opportunity for us to extract far greater value by operating in the market for used A319s.”

American A319

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

American Airlines is clearly committed to the ongoing operation of its A319s after it announced that it will undertake an extensive fleet retrofit starting this spring. The new ‘Oasis’ configuration includes new seats and a larger business class cabin.

Unfortunately for frequent flyers, this will likely come at the expense of legroom in economy class. The airline will also do away with the legacy seatback entertainment screens as it doubles down on pushing personal device entertainment.

Related

American Airlines Plans 1st Batch Of Airbus A319 Cabin Retrofits For Spring 2025

The aircraft will likely be stripped of their seatback screens.

easyJet: The largest-ever A319 customer

The British low-cost carrier has been the largest customer for the A319, having purchased 172 examples over its lifetime, or 12% of all A319s ever produced. Indeed, it was the attractive economics of the A319, along with some aggressive pricing from Airbus, that convinced easyJet to abandon its fleet of Boeing 737-300s over two decades ago, and, save for some short-term 757 leases, it has been an all-Airbus operator ever since.

easyJet Airbus A319 shutterstock_2364694895

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

Related

When & Why Did easyJet Switch From Boeing To Airbus Aircraft?

In a stunning change of course, easyJet selected Airbus A319s to replace its Boeing 737s in 2002.

easyJet still operates 82 A319s, which have a high-density configuration of 156 all-economy seats. However, in recent years, its orders have been for the larger versions of the A320 family, including A321neos, and its most recent order in late 2023 for 157 A320neos with options for an additional 100. The up-gauging of aircraft is understandable given that most European airports that easyJet flies to are slot-constrained, so more seats are required to sustain growth.

easyJet Airbus A319

Photo: Rebius | Shutterstock

As a result, easyJet is steadily phasing out its A319s. While the initial goal was to replace about 40% with A320s over the next two to three years, the retirement plans have been sped up as post-pandemic travel demand ramped up, and the carrier is now expected to have removed all A319s by mid-2027.

Easyjet A319

Photo: Toni M | Shutterstock

United Airlines: Recent A319 retrofit

United Airlines operates 81 A319s, 55 of which were delivered new to the airline in orders dating back to the 1990s. The remaining balance has been acquired more recently in the form of used aircraft. Like American Airlines, it appears to have decided to hold on to its A319s for a while longer, as all have been recently retrofitted with new cabins as part of the ‘United Next’ campaign.

United Airlines' Airbus A319 cabin

Photo: United Airlines

However, United is in a slightly different position in that its A319 fleet is the oldest of any larger operators. It also has 40 Boeing 737-700s (average age 25.8 years), meaning that it is rapidly approaching the time to decide on a 125-150 seat replacement for over 120 aircraft. Thus far, it hasn’t indicated whether it is leaning towards the A319neo or the A220-300.

United Airlines Airbus A319 departing from Denver International Airport.

Photo: Denver International Airport

Delta Air Lines: The Northwest ‘stepkids’

In 2008, airline leadership billed the merger between Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines as a “marriage made in heaven.” It certainly has proven to be successful, but it also meant the Atlanta-based carrier acquired a raft of Airbus A319/A320 ‘stepkids’ that didn’t exactly fit in with Delta’s fleet of Boeing and McDonnell-Douglas aircraft at the time.

Delta Air Lines Airbus A319

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

Since then, Delta has transformed into an Airbus-dominant carrier, and, nearly two decades later, 57 out of Northwest’s original order for 77 A319s are still around. However, many are now over 25 years old and are surely not far from retirement. Furthermore, given that Delta still has over 70 A220-300s to be delivered over the coming years, it is not difficult to identify their replacement.

Delta Air Lines Airbus A319-112 N369NB taking off from San Diego International Airport.

Photo: Ryan Fletcher | Shutterstock

What lies ahead for the A319?

The Delta experience of A319s being replaced by A220s is likely to be repeated by many other airlines worldwide. Airbus has launched and continues to sell the A319neo, but orders have barely gotten off the ground. Just 57 of the type have been ordered, and a backlog of only 35 aircraft exists – a far cry from the burgeoning order book of the original A319ceo nearly three decades ago.

Related

On The Edge: Examining The Future Of The Airbus A319neo

Following two deliveries in October, 35 orders remain in the backlog.

Part of this is because the A220 has proven to be a natural (and more efficient) A319 replacement for carriers like Delta, Air France, and Air Canada. However, it is also true that the increased range and efficiency of the larger A320 and A321 variants, combined with increasingly constrained airport space, has caused airlines to increasingly prefer stretched over shorter variants.

A China Southern Airlines Airbus A319neo Parked At Night.

Photo: Airbus

Sadly, the combination of these factors could herald the end of the road for the plucky little A319, an aircraft that has never had a fatal accident and which was so instrumental in the growth of Airbus over the past three decades.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *