The Airbus A310 is a wide-body aircraft; designed and manufactured by Airbus Industrie, then a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers. Airbus had demand for an aircraft smaller than the A300, the first twin-jet wide-body. On 7 July 1978, the A310 was launched with orders from Swissair and Lufthansa. On 3 April 1982, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight, and it received its type certification on 11 March 1983.
