The Airbus A310 is a medium- to long-range twin-engine wide body jet airliner. Launched in July 1978, it was the second aircraft created by Airbus, the consortium of European aerospace companies, which is now owned by EADS. The A310 is a shortened derivative of the A300, the first twin-engine wide body airliner. The A310 (along with the A300) officially ceased production in July 2007 although the last delivery was in June 1998. As of August 2010, 255 A310s have been delivered, 208 of which are still in operation. The A310 was marketed as an introduction to wide body operations for developing airlines. The A310 was replaced in Airbus' lineup by the highly succesful A330-200, which shares its fuselage cross-section. Between 1983 and the very last aircraft produced in 1998, 255 A310s were delivered by Airbus.