Summary

  • The Airbus A318, known as the 'Baby Bus,' has been in service for 20 years, but only nine are operated by scheduled airlines.
  • For now, Air France and TAROM are the only remaining scheduled carriers operating the A318.
  • Most A318s are used by charter and business jet operators as bigger and more efficient aircraft enter the market.

Entering service in 2003 with Frontier Airlines, the smallest airliner of the A320 Family still has a couple of operators 20 years later. There are about 34 Airbus A318s still in service. However, only nine are operated by scheduled carriers.

Baby Bus in detail

The first member of the A320 family was the A320, which entered service in 1988, followed by the A321, A319, and then the A318. The Airbus A318, affectionately known as the 'Baby Bus,' is the shortest version and can carry up to 132 passengers, although according to Airbus, the type is usually configured for between 90 and 110.

Its design enables it to take on steeper landing approaches than usual, differentiating it from other variants. The jet can approach at a 5.5-degree angle of attack, compared to the conventional 3 degrees, and was approved for steep approach landing capabilities by EASA in 2007.

Only 80 A318s were ever produced, and the orders took Airbus about ten years to complete. As of July 2023, only two commercial airlines are still operating the type. However, it has found a more fitting role as a charter and business jet with various private operators.

Air France

Air France was the largest operator of the A318, receiving 18 of them between 2003 and 2007. Today, the carrier has nine examples in its fleet, with seven still active. The rest have been stored, scrapped, and acquired by other operators.

An Air France A318 about to land.
Photo: Fasttailwind I Shutterstock.

According to ATDB.aero, the last aircraft to exit the fleet was F-GUGK, which left in July 2023 and is now stored at Kemble Cotswold Airport (GBA). The remaining aircraft still serve various domestic and regional routes daily. However, the French carrier may retire its surviving A318 fleet by the end of the year or early next year.

Air France's A318s have 132 seats in economy class and 18 in business class. In July 2023, the type flew from Paris Orly (ORY) and Charles de Gaulle (CDG) to over 20 cities in Europe and Africa, including Amsterdam, Florence, Nice, Stockholm, Malaga, Zurich, Algiers, and Marrakesh, to mention a few.

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TAROM

Romania's flag carrier TAROM is the only other scheduled airline still operating the A318 Baby Bus. It only received four examples between 2006 and 2007. Two of the four aircraft are still active, while the others are stored at Bucharest Henri Coanda Airport (OTP).

A TAROM Airbus A318 flying in the sky.
Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis | Shutterstock

The two active jets operate daily flights from Bucharest to Amsterdam, Istanbul, and London. In July 2023, they also flew to several European cities, including Athens, Brussels, Rome, Sofia, and Prague. The Romanian carrier also wants to let go of its A318s after a 17-year relationship.

The slow decline of the A318

Of the 50 A318s still active, about 19 are operated by governments, executives, and private jets, while the rest are with undisclosed operators. According to planespotters.net, the Baby Bus still operates charter flights in East Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America.

A TAROM A318 rolling down the runway.
Photo: Soos Jozsef I Shutterstock.

Regarding commercial operations, the number of active A318s has declined yearly. In 2019, about 38 were still active, while the number steadily declined during the pandemic. In 2022 about 20 were still operating commercial flights, and as we near Q4 2023, less than half are still gracing the skies.

With longer-range, faster, and more efficient A320 family aircraft such as the A321LR and A321XLR entering the market, we may be nearing the end of A318 Baby Bus operations with full-service carriers.

Have you ever flown on the A318? Please tell us about your experience in the comments!

Source: ATDB.aero, planespotters.net