1969__ On May 29, French Minister of Transport Jean Chamant and German Minister of Economic Affairs Karl Schiller sign a contract at the Paris Air Show for the joint development of the world’s first twin-engine commercial aircraft. The brand-new CF6-50 engine produced by U.S. manufacturer General Electric is selected to the power the aircraft.
1969__ On July 11, the aero engine and diesel engine activities of Daimler-Benz and MAN merge to form MTU Motoren- und Turbinen-Union München GmbH, or MTU for short.
1971__ On March 17, MTU signs an agreement with General Electric to collaborate on the production of CF6-50 engines for the Airbus A300B. MTU’s share is 10 percent.
1972__ Maiden flight of the A300B on October 28. Lufthansa and Air France are the first customers.
1979__ Airbus decides to build a family of narrowbody aircraft with 130 to 170 seats and names it the A320 program.
1980__ General Electric and MTU sign an agreement to collaborate on the higher-thrust CF6-80 engine to power the A300 and A310. MTU starts producing components in mid-1981.
1982__ Maiden flight of the A310.
1983__ Signing of the collaboration agreement for the development of the V2500 engine, in which MTU participates. One of its applications is the A320.
1988__ First A320 delivered.
1988__ The V2500 engine receives FAA approval. Its first application is the A320-200.
1989–2000__ German company Airbus GmbH (a fully owned subsidiary of Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm) and MTU Motoren- und Turbinen-Union München GmbH are both part of Daimler’s aerospace subsidiary, DASA, until the founding of EADS, known today as the Airbus Group.
2000__ The PW6000 engine for the A318 makes its maiden flight. It is the first commercial engine to which MTU contributes the high-pressure compressor.
2002__ Maiden flight of the A318, the smallest member of the A320 family.
2004__ The GP7000 engine for the Airbus A380 completes its first flight test. MTU holds a 22.5 percent stake in the engine.
2005__ Maiden flight of the A380.
2008__ Maiden flight of a GTF engine on an A340-600 at Airbus in Toulouse. The engine is offered as an option for the A320neo and as the exclusive engine for the C Series (now A220). MTU holds stakes of up to 18 percent in the Pratt & Whitney GTF engine family.
2009__ Maiden flight of the A400M military transport aircraft. MTU holds a workshare in its TP400-D6 engines.
2013__ Maiden flight of the A220 (then still named C Series) powered by PW1500G engines.
2013__ Transport Canada issues type approval for the PW1500G.
2014__ Maiden flight of the A320neo powered by PW1100G-JM engines.
2016__ The first A320neo powered by PW1100G-JM engines enters regular commercial service with Lufthansa.
2019__ Airbus builds 12,000 aircraft in 50 years and has orders for almost 20,000 more on the books.
2019__ At the Paris Air Show, MTU lands orders worth 1.3 billion euros, mostly for engines to power A320 and A220 aircraft.
