Airbus’ biggest commercial failure, the A318 is about to lose one of its only two operating airlines, Tarom.
The Romanian carrier sold two of the four jets it had in its fleet to the British company 3TOP Aviation Services, which will dismantle them and use the components in good condition for resale.
The aircraft are A318s MSN 2955 and 3220, which had been decommissioned for a few months.
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There is also a 120-seat Airbus being used frequently by Tarom, the YR-ASA, but according to the Romanian media, the company has already negotiated this and another parked aircraft.
The airline is facing financial constraints and has been reducing its operations, having recently sold its slots at London Heathrow Airport to Qatar Airways.
Only 80 aircraft on order
With the end of its service life in the Tarom fleet, only Air France will continue to fly the A318, of which it has six active aircraft, but even at the airline the aircraft is expected to be short-lived, with the addition of more A220-300s.
The A318, also known as the “Baby Bus”, was the smallest variant of the A320ceo family, launched by Airbus to compete in the market with regional jets.
However, its operating cost has always been very high due to its weight versus its small passenger capacity.
Only 80 aircraft were produced and, despite other Airbus jets having fewer orders, the A318 should have sold a lot due to its affordable cost.
In addition to Air France, there are examples flying with executive customers and governments. Only 21 A318s would be active in the world by October 2024.
