Airbus A319

Updated: October 2026 – A narrowbody Airbus taxis to the runway, you know the nose from the A320, but something looks shorter and sturdier: very likely an Airbus A319 is standing there. It has been part of everyday life at European airports since the mid-1990s and is therefore often overlooked. On this page you learn how to reliably tell it from the A320, A318 and A319neo, who still flies it in German-speaking Europe and why it is worth photographing it deliberately right now.

What is the Airbus A319?

The A319 is the shortened version of the A320 and thus the second-smallest member of the classic A320 family. Airbus derived it from the A320 fuselage: cross-section, cockpit, wing and systems are largely the same, only fuselage segments ahead of and behind the wing are missing. The result is a narrowbody jet with an overall length of 33.84 meters – about 3.7 meters less than the A320.

According to Airbus, the cabin typically has room for 110 to 140 passengers in two classes, and the manufacturer gives 156 seats as the maximum. Because it is lighter than the A320, it goes further: with Sharklets Airbus quotes a range of around 6,950 kilometers. That makes the A319 a flexible tool for thinner routes, for airports with shorter runways and for airlines that want to cover different sizes with a single family. Pilots with an A320 rating may fly it without a separate type rating.

The ceo generation – “current engine option” – flies with two engines of the type CFM56-5 or IAE V2500-A5. The abbreviation ceo only came later, when Airbus introduced a new engine generation with the neo. You can read more on the manufacturer side in the profile of Airbus.

History: from Hamburg to the world

Airbus offered the shortened A320 from 1992 and launched the program in June 1993. The launch customer was the lessor ILFC. On August 25, 1995, the first A319 took off for its first flight in Hamburg-Finkenwerder – fitting, since the A319’s final assembly was in Hamburg. European certification followed in April 1996, and in the same month the type entered airline service with Swissair. The Swissair aircraft moved in 2002 to the newly founded Swiss.

For German spotters, too, the A319 has been a home game from the start: Lufthansa put its first A319, D-AILA “Frankfurt (Oder),” into service in summer 1996. Later a second final assembly line in Tianjin, China, was added.

Over the years, several spin-offs emerged:

• ACJ319 (formerly A319CJ): Business and government jet with extra tanks in the cargo hold and considerably more range.
• A319LR: Long-range version with extra tanks in the cargo hold. PrivatAir flew all-business-class connections to the US with it on behalf of Lufthansa, and Qatar Airways also used the variant.
• A319neo: New engines and Sharklets from the factory. According to order statistics, with only a few dozen orders it has remained a niche model.

In total, according to order statistics (as of 2025), Airbus has delivered just under 1,500 A319ceos. Compared with the A320 and A321 it is therefore no bestseller, but a type you have seen at practically every larger European airport.

The three features that are enough to identify it

Within the A320 family, all members look almost the same from the front. Length, exits and tail make the difference.

In the vast majority of cases this combination narrows it down reliably. In the end, the registration confirms the type – with it you look the aircraft up in any database. How to read registrations and what the country prefixes mean is explained in the guide Understanding aircraft registrations.

A319, A318, A320 or A321?

The four ceo members share cockpit, fuselage cross-section and wing planform. The key differences at a glance:

Feature	A318	A319	A320	A321
ICAO type designator	A318	A319	A320	A321
Length	31.44 m	33.84 m	37.57 m	44.51 m
Overwing emergency exits (per side)	1	1 (densely seated: 2)	2	none, but additional doors ahead of and behind the wing
Vertical stabilizer	raised	normal	normal	normal
Typical look	very short, tall tail	compact, wing dominates	well-balanced	stretched out

The table shows: for the A319 only two neighbors are really dangerous. You recognize the A318 by its taller tail, and it is rare today anyway. You tell the A320 apart by the exits and the fuselage ratio. The A321 almost always gives itself away by its length and the differently arranged doors.

A319ceo or A319neo?

The neo version has so far been ordered in only small numbers, so you will see it less often. You can still mix them up, because fuselage and length are practically identical. The engines are what decide it: the neo carries CFM LEAP-1A or Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines of visibly larger diameter, and the nacelles sit higher and further forward under the wing. In addition, every neo has Sharklets from the factory – on the ceo they are optional or were retrofitted. How the neo family looks in detail is shown on the A320neo page.

The wingtips still help you with the ceo: older A319s carry small, triangular wingtip fences that stick out above and below the wingtip. Since the 2010s Airbus has offered the tall, curved Sharklets, which increase the wingspan to 35.80 meters. If you see fences, it is definitely a ceo.

Outside the Airbus world, the Boeing 737-700 is the direct competitor. It has a more pointed nose, flattened engine inlets and a shorter landing gear, so it stands lower to the ground. You can find the basic rules in the article Telling Airbus and Boeing apart.

Where you find the A319

In German-speaking Europe the A319 is mainly associated with the Lufthansa Group. Lufthansa has used it since 1996, and Eurowings operates its own A319 sub-fleet, which has shrunk in recent years, however. In 2024 Eurowings passed several A319s to the new Lufthansa City Airlines in Munich as an interim solution; it began flight operations in June 2024. In Switzerland the type’s story began with Swissair; how many A319s still fly with Swiss today is best checked in the current flight schedule. Lufthansa and Swiss belong to the Lufthansa Group and the Star Alliance.

The second big name is easyJet. The airline was one of the world’s largest A319 operators for years, but by its own account plans to phase the type out completely by the end of September 2029 and replace it with A320neos and A321neos. In the US, American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines still fly larger A319 fleets.

A special feature for spotters is the Flugbereitschaft BMVg (the German defense ministry’s air transport wing): the Luftwaffe uses A319s for government and VIP flights, plus an observation aircraft converted by Lufthansa Technik for missions under the Open Skies Treaty, handed over in 2019. How to plan for government aircraft is explained in the article Spotting government aircraft.

Place	Chance of a hit	Why
Munich	high	Lufthansa hub and base of Lufthansa City Airlines
Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn, Hamburg	medium to high	Eurowings traffic and Lufthansa feeders
Berlin	medium	easyJet traffic, Flugbereitschaft government flights
Zurich	medium	Swiss European traffic, check current status

How to follow such flights live is shown in the guide on flight tracking with ADS-B.

Spotting tips: where the A319 comes into your lens

In Munich the visitors’ hill (Besucherhügel) is the classic starting point. From there you see Lufthansa traffic on the apron and can compare the small Airbuses side by side – ideal for sharpening your eye for the A319 and A320. In Düsseldorf the observation deck gives an overview of Eurowings operations, similar to the observation deck in Cologne/Bonn.

In Hamburg the Affenfelsen at Hamburg Airport is worth a visit. The city is a special place for the type anyway, because the A319 had its first flight here. What you can see around the Airbus plant is covered in the article Spotting Airbus in Finkenwerder. In Berlin the observation deck at BER offers a view of easyJet and occasionally of the Flugbereitschaft.

For every location, the runway direction in use decides whether you have landings or takeoffs in front of you. How to judge it in advance is explained in the article Understanding runway direction in use at an airport. Whether your vantage point is permitted is covered in Is plane spotting allowed?.

Photo tips especially for the A319

The A319 is no spectacular subject at first glance – which is exactly why it is worth photographing deliberately and cleanly. A few points help.

You work out when the light suits your spot with the guide Planning the sun position for your photo spot. Which lenses make sense is covered in Lenses and focal length for plane spotting. And if you are just starting out, Identifying aircraft types for beginners gets you on course quickly.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Besides the A320 family, the A319 is sometimes also mistaken for larger regional jets like the Embraer E195 or the Airbus A220-100. Both, however, have a completely different nose and, on the A220, conspicuously large engines in proportion to the fuselage.

Conclusion

The A319 is the unassuming workhorse Airbus that is easily mistaken for an A320. Once you pay attention to the proportions and the emergency exits, though, you recognize it quickly. For spotters in German-speaking Europe it has a special history: first flight in Hamburg, first airline service with Swissair, with Lufthansa since 1996. Because easyJet and other operators are gradually replacing the ceo version, the everyday aircraft is becoming a type you can collect deliberately.