Aircraft types · Airliner · single-aisle jet

Airbus A320 family

The Airbus A320 family (A318, A319, A320 and A321) is a twin-engine, single-aisle jet airliner family in service since 1988 and one of the most common airliners in the world. It introduced digital fly-by-wire controls to single-aisle airliners.

Representative photo of a Airbus A320 family
Photo: Bahnfrend, CC0
On the US register2,054
Valid registrations2,049
Median age11 years
NTSB records since 1990393

How old is the US fleet?

Age of US-registered Airbus A320 family aircraft, in years01092183274360–4: 408 aircraft0–45–9: 436 aircraft5–910–14: 375 aircraft10–1415–19: 152 aircraft15–1920–24: 214 aircraft20–2425–29: 310 aircraft25–2930–34: 33 aircraft30–3435–39: 3 aircraft35–39
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Age (years)Aircraft
0–4408
5–9436
10–14375
15–19152
20–24214
25–29310
30–3433
35–393

Ages from the year of manufacture in the FAA registry. Age alone says little about safety: aircraft are maintained on FAA-approved programs, and older airplanes flown by US airlines must also pass extra FAA aging-airplane inspections and records reviews at set intervals (14 CFR 121.1105).

Most common variants

A321-271NX
324
A320-232
298
A321-231
279
A320-214
188
A321-211
132
A320-251N
119
A320-271N
111
A319-112
81

Public NTSB records mentioning this type

The NTSB database lists 393 records involving a Airbus A320 family since 1990: 138 classified as accidents and 255 as incidents.

Records per year (last 10 years)

NTSB records per year involving the Airbus A320 family08172634’16: 19 records’16’17: 18 records’17’18: 14 records’18’19: 30 records’19’20: 16 records’20’21: 15 records’21’22: 24 records’22’23: 30 records’23’24: 27 records’24’25: 34 records’25’26: 27 records’26
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YearNTSB records
201619
201718
201814
201930
202016
202115
202224
202330
202427
202534
202627
Please read this before comparing numbers. These are raw counts of NTSB records, not rates. Types that are more numerous, fly more hours, or are used for training naturally appear more often. Counts include minor events and events with no injuries, and can't be used to compare the safety of one type with another. SafelyAboard does not rate or score aircraft. Records also include some events outside the US that the NTSB took part in.

Airbus A320 family: common questions

How many Airbus A320 family aircraft are registered in the US?

The FAA registry lists 2,054 aircraft matching the Airbus A320 family, of which 2,049 have a valid registration. That includes aircraft registered to airlines, lessors and other owners.

How old is the typical Airbus A320 family in the US?

The median age, from the year of manufacture in the FAA registry, is about 11 years. Age alone says little about safety: aircraft are maintained on FAA-approved programs, and older airplanes flown by US airlines must also pass extra FAA aging-airplane inspections and records reviews at set intervals (14 CFR 121.1105).

How can I tell if my flight is on a Airbus A320 family?

Your airline's app or booking usually shows the aircraft type. At the gate, you can read the tail number (on US aircraft it starts with N) and look it up on SafelyAboard. Airlines can swap aircraft, so check again on the day.

Is the Airbus A320 family safe?

SafelyAboard doesn't rate or compare aircraft types. The NTSB record counts on this page depend heavily on how many aircraft exist and how much they fly, so they can't be used to compare safety. For the bigger picture, see our explainer on how safe flying is overall.

Flying on a Airbus A320 family soon? Get a calm My Flight briefing, read what's normal on a flight, or see how safe flying is overall.

Similar types

Boeing 737

2,890 US-registered

Airbus A220

229 US-registered

Boeing 757

440 US-registered

Data: FAA Releasable Aircraft Database (file dated 2026-10-16) and NTSB aviation accident database, refreshed 2026-10-17 20:47 UTC. Counts match FAA/NTSB make and model text and may include closely related variants.