TRACKING IN-SERVICE AIRCRAFT AND FLEET TYPES IS USUALLY not difficult using databases such as Aviation Week's Fleet Discovery. But digging out the details of the Airbus A300 in-service fleet 50 years after its first flight is complicated, and results have to be taken with some caution. Information about whether an aircraft is still flying often varies from source to source. And with a significant part of the fleet operating in Iran and Russia, even Airbus has only limited access to information, given that the sanctions imposed on those countries essentially allow no dealings with the operators there. According to Airbus' latest operational statistics for September, a total of 229 A300s remain in operation worldwide. Fleet Discovery allows a more detailed look at the actual status of the aircraft: it lists 182 as in service, 24 in parked or parked-reserve status and 23 more in long-term storage. Fifty-four A310s are still flying, Airbus says. Of the A300s, the vast majority are freighters.
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