Who christened the first Airbus A320 with champagne?

On 14 February 1987 the first A320 came off the final assembly line in Toulouse. That day the aircraft was shown to the public for the first time, and Diana and Charles, Prince and Princess of Wales, christened it with the name A320. The christening was carried out, fittingly, with champagne. Among those present was the then French prime minister, Jacques Chirac. The ceremony was also attended by the European politicians and Airbus champions Franz Josef Strauß and Jacques Chirac.

The unveiling of the new A320 prompted a message from François Mitterrand, President of the Republic, addressed to F. J. Strauß and J. Pierson and dated in Paris on Thursday, 12 February 1987. It noted that since the launch, in March 1984, deadlines had been met and that the A320 was already establishing itself worldwide as a brilliant technical and commercial success. The message described the Airbus venture as one of the symbols of European construction.

The first flight took place on 22 February and lasted 3 hours and 23 minutes. The first A320 was delivered to Air France on 28 March. It entered commercial service on 8 April, on a flight between Paris and Berlin via Düsseldorf.