The Airbus A330neo ("neo" for "
New Engine Option") is a
wide-body airliner
A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast. The typical fuselage diameter is . In the typical wide-body economy cabin ...
developed by
Airbus
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...
from the
Airbus A330 (now A330''ceo'' – "Current Engine Option").
A new version with modern engines comparable with those developed for the
Boeing 787 was called for by operators of the original A330 series. It was launched on 14 July 2014 at the
Farnborough Airshow, promising 14% better
fuel economy per seat. It is exclusively powered by the
Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 which has double the
bypass ratio
The bypass ratio (BPR) of a turbofan engine is the ratio between the mass flow rate of the bypass stream to the mass flow rate entering the core. A 10:1 bypass ratio, for example, means that 10 kg of air passes through the bypass duct for ev ...
of its
predecessor.
Its two versions are based on the
A330-200
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the Airbus A300, A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel w ...
and -300: the -800 has a range of with 257 passengers while the -900 covers with 287 passengers. The -900 made its
maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alw ...
on 19 October 2017 and received its
EASA
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monito ...
type certificate on 26 September 2018; it was first delivered to
TAP Air Portugal on 26 November 2018 and entered service on 15 December. The -800 made its first flight on 6 November 2018 and received EASA type certification on 13 February 2020; the first two -800s were delivered to
Kuwait Airways on 29 October 2020 and entered service on 20 November.
, a total of 293 A330neo family aircraft had been ordered by more than 24 customers, of which 77 aircraft had been delivered.
Development
Studies
At the
Boeing 787 launch in 2004, Airbus' initial response was an improved A330. After negative feedback from airlines and
lessors, the
A350 XWB
The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner developed and produced by Airbus.
The first A350 design proposed by Airbus in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the A330 w ...
became a new design in 2006. After the
A320neo
The Airbus A320neo family is a development of the A320 family of narrow-body airliners produced by Airbus.
The A320neo family (''neo'' for "new engine option") is based on the previous A319, A320 and A321 ( enhanced variant), which was then ren ...
launch in December 2010 and its commercial success, the largest airline of
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
– an all-Airbus operator –
AirAsia
Capital A Berhad, () operating as AirAsia (stylized as ''airasia'') is a Malaysian multinational low-cost airline headquartered near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the largest airline in Malaysia by fleet size and destinations. AirAsia operat ...
asked Airbus to
re-engine the A330.
[ New engines like the GEnx or Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 developed for the 787 could offer a 12%–15% fuel burn improvement, and sharklets at least 2%.][
Airbus sales chief John Leahy's argument was that the lower purchase price of an A330 even without new engines make the economics of buying an A330 competitive at midrange routes with that of the Boeing 787.][ An A330neo would accelerate the demise of the similarly sized A350-800.][ Airbus also considered re-engining the ]A380
The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
but was wary of having two major modification programs simultaneously.[
In March 2014, ]Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along ...
expressed an interest in the A330neo to replace its ageing, 20+-year-old Boeing 767-300ER
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified o ...
jets.[ In the 250-300-seat market, CIT Group believed an A330neo enables profitability on shorter ranges where the longer-range A350 and Boeing 787 are not optimised. CIT said that the A350-800 was not as efficient as it would like, and Air Lease Corp. added that the company did not consider it reasonable to take the A350-800 and A330neo as they saw no sustainable coexistence of the two aircraft.][
]AirAsia X
AirAsia X (previously known as ''FlyAsianXpress Sdn. Bhd.''), is a long-haul budget airline based in Malaysia, and a sister company of AirAsia. It commenced operations on 2 November 2007 with its first service flown from Kuala Lumpur Interna ...
ended flights to London and Paris from Kuala Lumpur in 2012 because their Airbus A340s were not fuel-efficient enough and would try again with A330s.[ As Airbus gradually increased output of the new A350, prolonging the production run of the A330 could help to maintain profitability.][ After ]Emirates
Emirates may refer to:
* United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country
* Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir
** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf
** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates
* The Emirat ...
cancelled 70 orders for the A350, Airbus said it continued to work on re-engining the smaller A330.[
]
Launch
On 14 July 2014 at the Farnborough Airshow, Airbus launched the A330neo programme, to be powered by the new Rolls-Royce Trent 7000. It would improve the fuel burn per seat by 14%. Airbus hoped to sell 1,000 A330neo aircraft. Its range would increase by and although 95% of the parts would be common with the A330ceo, maintenance costs would be lower. New winglets, 3.7 metres wider and similar to those of the A350 XWB
The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner developed and produced by Airbus.
The first A350 design proposed by Airbus in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the A330 w ...
, still within ICAO
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...
category E airport requirements, along with new engine pylons, would improve aerodynamics by 4%.[
The A330neo's development costs were expected to have an impact of around −0.7% on Airbus's ]return on sales In business, operating margin—also known as operating income margin, operating profit margin, EBIT margin and return on sales (ROS)—is the ratio of operating income ("operating profit" in the UK) to net sales, usually expressed in percent.
: ...
target from 2015 to 2017,[ an estimated $2 billion (£1.18 billion).][ Airbus stated that lower capital cost would make the A330neo the most cost-efficient medium-range wide-body airliner.][ Airbus said that it could pursue demand for 4,000 aircraft and that there was an open market for 2,600 jets not already addressed by backlogs with operators already using A330s. Aerodynamic modifications would include a re-twisted wing and optimised slats.][
In 2014, '' The Airline Monitors Ed Greenslet stated that the A330neo would have the advantage of not being designed to fly 8,000 nmi, unlike the A350 and Boeing 787 which were thus less economical on shorter routes, although "the vast majority of long-haul markets is 4,000 nmi or less".
He also believed that an "A330neo would enjoy a monopoly in its segment instantly", with the ]Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified o ...
"essentially out of production", the Boeing 757
The Boeing 757 is an American narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978.
The prototype completed its maid ...
not replaced while the A321neo and the 737-9 are smaller and had less range, and that launching the A330neo would probably kill the smallest A350-800.[
John Leahy estimated that the A330-900 would have operating costs on par with the 787-9, but would be available at 25% lower capital costs and could reach a production rate of 10 per month after a 7/8 per month rate at the production start.][ Both A330neo variants were expected to have a maximum take-off weight of 242 t. The type design was frozen in late 2015.][
]Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and ...
Vice Chairman and Commercial Airplanes CEO Ray Conner dismissed the A330neo as a 2004 revamp which cannot match the 787's direct operating costs, being heavier and having a wing only slightly improved from the 1980s design, and claimed the 787-10 was almost 30% more efficient per-seat than the previous A330-300 and that a new engine would not close the gap – but he acknowledged that it could be a threat as it put pressure on Boeing as it sought to break even after 850–1,000 787 deliveries.[
]
Production
On 7 September 2015, Airbus announced that it had begun production of the first A330neo with the construction of its centre wingbox and engine pylon.[ Final assembly of the first aircraft, an A330-900, started in September 2016 at the Airbus Toulouse site with the joining of the wings to the centre fuselage at the station 40.][ In December 2016, the programme schedule slipped by six weeks due to marginal engine development at Rolls-Royce, and launch customer TAP Air Portugal projected its first A330neo would be delivered in March 2018.][
The first aircraft left the paint shop in December 2016, awaiting its engines. By April 2017, the Trent 7000s were to be installed later during the summer, so that the first flight was delayed until September.][
Due to the delay, TAP Air Portugal was not expected to receive the first A330neo until the end of the first half of 2018, or even in the third quarter.]
The engines were shipped to Airbus in June. The aircraft complete with engines showed at Toulouse in September before its first flight.
Major structures of the first A330-800 were entering production in October 2017: high-lift devices are installed on the wing in Bremen
Bremen ( Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state cons ...
, fuselage sections are built in Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
, the centre wing-box in Nantes
Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
, titanium engine pylons in Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...
and sharklet wingtips in Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...
. Its final assembly started in November 2017, on track for its planned first flight in mid-2018.
Structural assembly was completed by February 2018, having its flight-test instruments installed and waiting for its engines before its 300h flight-test programme.
At this time, production aircraft progressed through the final assembly line with the first 'Airspace' cabin interior being fitted.
A330 production was cut to 50 deliveries in 2019, with more than half of them re-engined A330neos.
In April 2020, the production rate decreased from 3.5 to 2 per month due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation, and finished planes were stored while waiting for deferred deliveries.
In 2018, unit cost was US$259.9 M for a -800 and US$296.4 M for a -900.
Flight testing
The A330-900 first flight on 19 October 2017 was a debut of the 1,400 hours flight test campaign involving three prototypes plus the first production aircraft: 1,100 flight hours for the A330-900 and 300 flight hours for the A330-800, targeting mid-2018 EASA and FAA Type Certification. The 4h 15m flight reached and . It should establish certain maximum operating point
{{unreferenced, date=April 2013
The operating point is a specific point within the operation characteristic of a technical device. This point will be engaged because of the properties of the system and the outside influences and parameters. In el ...
s and achieve an initial handling qualities assessment including at high angle of attack
In fluid dynamics, angle of attack (AOA, α, or \alpha) is the angle between a reference line on a body (often the chord line of an airfoil) and the vector representing the relative motion between the body and the fluid through which it is m ...
. This first aircraft, MSN1795, was scheduled to perform 600 h and was to be joined the following month by the second, MSN1813, which will fly 500 h, before the third, MSN1819, the first customer aircraft for TAP Portugal with a complete cabin.
Two flight test engineer
A flight test engineer (FTE) is an engineer involved in the flight testing of prototype aircraft or aircraft systems.
Overview
The flight test engineer generally has overall responsibility for the planning of a specific flight test phase, which ...
s and two engine specialists monitored the 60GB per hour output of 1,375 sensors and 98,000 parameters, including strips of microelectromechanical systems
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), also written as micro-electro-mechanical systems (or microelectronic and microelectromechanical systems) and the related micromechatronics and microsystems constitute the technology of microscopic devices, ...
to measure aerodynamic pressure distribution across the wing. MSN1795 was to undertake simulated icing tests and cold-weather tests in Canada, noise
Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference aris ...
assessment, autoland testing and high angle-of-attack
In fluid dynamics, angle of attack (AOA, α, or \alpha) is the angle between a reference line on a body (often the chord line of an airfoil) and the vector representing the relative motion between the body and the fluid through which it is mo ...
, minimum-unstick checks during rotation
Rotation, or spin, is the circular movement of an object around a '' central axis''. A two-dimensional rotating object has only one possible central axis and can rotate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. A three-dimensional ...
with a tail bumper. MSN1813 was to test natural icing conditions
In aviation, icing conditions are atmospheric conditions that can lead to the formation of water ice on an aircraft. Ice accretion and accumulation can affect the external surfaces of an aircraft – in which case it is referred to as ''airframe ...
, assess hot and high conditions in the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...
and La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the third-most populous city in Bol ...
, and fly 150h of route-proving; it has rakes and pressure sensors in the engine flows to compare actual thrust
Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that ...
with ground bench measurements. MSN1819 was to validate the Airspace cabin interior fitting with artificial passengers for ventilation analysis and cabin environment measurements.
The second test aircraft made its maiden flight on 4 December, to be used to validate aerodynamic & engine performance and airline operations.
By the end of January 2018, the first logged almost 200h in 58 flights while the second had accumulated nearly 120h in 30 flights.
Its flight envelope
In aerodynamics, the flight envelope, service envelope, or performance envelope of an aircraft or spacecraft refers to the capabilities of a design in terms of airspeed and load factor or atmospheric density, often simplified to altitude. The ...
was fully opened including flutter and stall tests to complete powerplant calibration and strake configuration has been frozen.
Airbus commenced autopilot, autoland and high-speed performance testing, and was to move on to hot- and cold-weather tests, as well as noise and icing tests, over the following three months.[
As of 10 April 2018, the two test aircraft had logged over 200 flights and more than 700 hours, testing −27 °C cold weather, natural icing, ]crosswind landing
In aviation, a crosswind landing is a landing maneuver in which a significant component of the prevailing wind is perpendicular to the runway center line.
Significance
Aircraft in flight are subject to the direction of the winds in which the ...
, 37 °C and hot and high operations.
The first TAP Air Portugal aircraft made its first flight on 15 May 2018; it joined the two previous test aircraft to check the cabin
Cabin may refer to:
Buildings
* Beach cabin, a small wooden hut on a beach
* Log cabin, a house built from logs
* Cottage, a small house
* Chalet, a wooden mountain house with a sloping roof
* Cabin, small free-standing structures that serve as i ...
systems: air conditioning
Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
, crew rest, etc.
It started the final certification step on 18 June: function and reliability tests or route proving, including ETOPS
ETOPS () is an acronym for ''Extended-range Twin-engine Operations Performance Standards''—a special part of flight rules for one-engine-inoperative flight conditions. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) coined the acronym for ...
, diversion airport landing, and testing ground handling over 150 flight test hours, as the flight test programme reached 1,000 hours.
Entry into service was planned for the third quarter of 2018 and ETOPS
ETOPS () is an acronym for ''Extended-range Twin-engine Operations Performance Standards''—a special part of flight rules for one-engine-inoperative flight conditions. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) coined the acronym for ...
was to be approved in October for 330min.
EASA
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monito ...
granted the A330-941 type certificate on 26 September 2018, with ETOPS not yet approved. ETOPS 180 min was approved on 14 November, restricted to engines with fewer than 500 flight cycles.
Airbus expects the FAA type certification with 180 min ETOPS by the end of 2018 and 330 min ETOPS in the first half of 2019.
Beyond-180min ETOPS was approved by the EASA by 24 January 2019.
The maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alw ...
of the -800 took place on 6 November 2018; the 4h 4min flight inaugurated a 350h test program aiming for mid-2019 type certification, for delivery in the first half of 2020 to launch operator Kuwait Airways.
By late March 2019, it was halfway through the 300 hours flight-test programme, having completed 44 flights in 149 hours. The -800 received EASA type certification with 180-minute ETOPS on 13 February 2020; ETOPS clearance beyond 180 minutes was awarded on 2 April.
Entry into service
Leased from Avolon, the first A330-900 was delivered to TAP Air Portugal on 26 November 2018, featuring 298 seats: 34 full-flat business, 96 economy plus and 168 economy seats, and to be deployed from Portugal to the Americas and Africa.[
TAP made its first commercial flight on 15 December from ]Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...
to São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...
. The airline should receive 15 more A330neos in 2019 and fly the A330-900 from Lisbon to Chicago O'Hare and Washington Dulles
Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and Fa ...
from June 2019, both five times a week.
Increased takeoff weight
On the occasion of the 19 October 2017 first flight, an increase to MTOW by mid-2020 was announced, with a few changes to the landing gear and brakes, increasing its range by compared to the current A330neo or A330ceo.
The 251 t MTOW was confirmed by Airbus in November 2017.[
This gave the -900 a range of and for the -800.]
Test flights of the 251 t A330-900 started from 28 February 2020.
Airbus was expecting a short 30–40h test campaign, as multiple tests were conducted with the previous variant adapted to higher weight, including flight performance and noise assessment.
The heavier structure allows a transpacific range, and is balanced by a weight-reduction effort, keeping the same empty weight and payload.
On 8 October 2020, the 251 t A330-900 was EASA-certified, before introduction by Corsair International
Corsair International, legally ''Corsair S.A.'' and previously ''Corsairfly'' and ''Corse Air International'', is a French charter airline headquartered in Rungis and based at Orly Airport. It is a subsidiary of German investor Intro Aviation (53 ...
.
Retaining 99% spares commonality
In aviation, fleet commonality is the economic and logistic benefits of operating a standardized fleet of aircraft that share common parts, training requirements, or other characteristics.
Different types of commonality
Commonality policies ...
, it offers more payload while strengthening the landing-gear and extending the time before overhaul interval from 10 to 12 years.
On 31 March 2021, Corsair took delivery of the first 251t Airbus A330-900 in a three-class, 352-seat configuration.
The 251 t A330-800 was certified by EASA in April 2022.
Design
The larger 112-inch Trent 7000 is 11% more efficient than the 97.5-inch Trent 700
The Rolls-Royce Trent 700 is a high-bypass turbofan produced by Rolls-Royce plc to power the Airbus A330.
Rolls-Royce was studying a RB211 development for the A330 at its launch in June 1987.
It was first selected by Cathay Pacific in April ...
engine, with a 2% loss due to increased weight and 1% due to additional drag from the larger engine, but the sharklets and aero optimization regains 4% for a 12% fuel advantage per trip. Furthermore, fuel consumption per seat is improved by 2% due to the rearranged cabin (Space-Flex and Smart-Lav) with increased seating, offering a 14% fuel burn reduction per seat for the new −900 compared to the previous 235-tonne −300 version.[ The newer 242-tonne −300 is already 2% more efficient.][
Airbus unveiled a distinctive cockpit windscreen to be featured on the A330neo, similar to that on the ]A350
The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner developed and produced by Airbus.
The first A350 design proposed by Airbus in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the A330 ...
,[ and promised a new interior concept offering a better passenger experience on the A330neo.][ Initially based on the largest 242t MTOW A330, Airbus is studying an improvement to MTOW for the A330neo, which would match the figure originally given for the Airbus A350-800 before it was sidelined in favor of the A330neo.][ This would give the -900 a range to better compete with the 787-9’s
Since the fan is enlarged from , the ]nacelle
A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attache ...
s are mounted higher, necessitating extensive CFD analysis
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical analysis and data structures to analyze and solve problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate the ...
to avoid supersonic shock wave interference drag, as is the first slat's dog-tooth. The wing twist and belly fairings are tweaked to approach the lowest drag elliptical span-wise pressure distribution changed by the larger sharklets, like the flap track fairings shape to lower form drag.
On the -800 at FL400, cruise fuel flow at Mach 0.82 and low weight is per hour at a higher weight and Mach 0.83.
Engines
Candidate engines included variants of Rolls-Royce's Trent 1000 and General Electric's GEnx-1B. Both engine makers were reportedly interested in winning an exclusive deal should a re-engined A330 be offered. The Trent 1000 TEN (Thrust, Efficiency, New Technology) engine is under development for the 787-10, but Rolls-Royce intends to offer a broad power range.[
The A330neo uses the Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engine, which is an electronic controlled bleed air variant of the ]Trent 1000
The Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 is a high-bypass turbofan engine produced by Rolls-Royce plc, one of the two engine options for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, competing with the General Electric GEnx.
It first ran on 14 February 2006 and first flew on ...
used on the Boeing 787-10. It will have a diameter fan and a 10:1 bypass ratio.[ They deliver a thrust of .][
The Trent is the exclusive powerplant, as Rolls-Royce offered better terms to obtain exclusivity. Customers bemoan the loss of competition among engine makers: Steven Udvar-Hazy, CEO of Air Lease Corporation, said that he wants a choice of engines, but Airbus has pointed out that equipping a commercial aircraft to handle more than one type of engine adds several hundred million dollars to the development cost. The head of ]Pratt and Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation (especially airlines) and military av ...
said: "Engines are no longer commodities...the optimization of the engine and the aircraft becomes more relevant."[
The decision to offer the aircraft with only one engine option is not unique to Airbus; the ]Boeing 777X
The Boeing 777X is the latest series of the long-range, wide-body, twin-engine jetliners in the Boeing 777 family from Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The 777X features new GE9X engines, new composite wings with folding wingtips, greater cabin ...
will come equipped exclusively with General Electric GE9X
The General Electric GE9X is a high-bypass turbofan developed by GE Aviation exclusively for the Boeing 777X. It first ran on the ground in April 2016 and first flew on March 13, 2018; it powered the 777-9's maiden flight in early 2020. It rec ...
engines, after Rolls Royce made a bid with its Advance
Advance commonly refers to:
*Advance, an offensive push in sports, games, thoughts, military combat, or sexual or romantic pursuits
*Advance payment for goods or services
*Advance against royalties, a payment to be offset against future royalty pa ...
configuration but was not selected.[
]
Variants
A330-900
The A330-900 retains the fuselage length of the A330-300
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...
and the similarly sized four-engined A340-300. Cabin optimisation allows ten additional seats on the A330-900 (310 passengers) with 18-inch-wide economy seats.[ The -900 should travel 6550 nmi (12,130 km) with 287 passengers (440 max).]
Delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also ...
expects a 20 percent reduction in operating cost per seat over the Boeing 767-300ER
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified o ...
aircraft it replaces.
Further reconfiguration of cabin facilities enables the –900 to seat up to 460 passengers in an all-economy layout. This exceeds the existing 440-seat maximum exit limit allowed by the type certificate, and requires a modification of the Type-A exit doors to meet emergency exit requirements.
In November 2019, maximum accommodation increased to 460 seats, through the installation of new 'Type-A+' exits, with a dual-lane evacuation slide.
A330-800
The A330-800 retains the fuselage length of the A330-200
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the Airbus A300, A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel w ...
, but can seat six more passengers (for a total of 252) with an optimised cabin featuring 18-inch-wide economy seats.[ The -800 should have a range of 7500 nmi (13,900 km) with 257 passengers (406 max).]
As the variants share 99% commonality
In aviation, fleet commonality is the economic and logistic benefits of operating a standardized fleet of aircraft that share common parts, training requirements, or other characteristics.
Different types of commonality
Commonality policies ...
, developing the smaller -800 has a negligible extra cost.
After the first flight of the -900 on 19 October 2017, Hawaiian Airlines (then the only customer for the -800) considered changing its order for six -800s,
seeking to best fit its current network to Asia and North America whilst allowing for future growth, possibly to Europe.
Demand for the -800 fell to 3%, whereas the -200 commanded 40% of the ceo deliveries: its range advantage has eroded with the increased capabilities of the -900, and although it offers lower fuel per trip, fuel per seat is higher.
Demand for the -800 is limited by low fuel prices and the fact that the -200s it might replace after 2020 are still young (nine years on average). The Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified o ...
-300/400s that the -800 might replace are 15 years older, and while Boeing considered relaunching production of the 767-300ER
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified o ...
, mainly as an interim for American and United airlines, this was complicated by a 30-year-old design including obsolete cabin amenities.
Before the introduction of the Boeing NMA, expected no earlier than 2027, the 95 A330 operators offer opportunities, and long-haul low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...
s could be interested in high density nine-abreast layouts for 386 seats over at the MTOW, more than a similarly loaded 787-8 and with up to 30 more seats.
Production of the -800 beyond the prototype was in doubt, as Hawaiian was choosing between the Airbus A350
The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner developed and produced by Airbus.
The first A350 design proposed by Airbus in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the A330 wi ...
-900 and the Boeing 787-8/9.[
In February 2018, Hawaiian was thought to be cancelling its order for six A330-800s, replacing them with Boeing 787-9s priced at less than $100–115m, close to their production cost of $80–90m, while ]Boeing Capital
Boeing Capital is a subsidiary of The Boeing Company, providing asset-based leasing and lending services. Boeing Capital is made up of two divisions, Aircraft Financial Services and Space & Defense Financial Services. It operates as a support un ...
released Hawaiian from three 767-300ER leases well in advance.
Hawaiian denied that the order for the A330-800 had been cancelled, but did not dismiss a new deal with Boeing.
In March 2018, Hawaiian confirmed the cancellation of its order for six A330-800s and ordered ten B787-9s instead.
Airbus says it was "simply undercut in price".
In July 2018 a new memorandum of understanding from Uganda Airlines
Uganda Airlines is the flag carrier of Uganda. The company is a revival of the older Uganda Airlines which operated from 1977 until 2001. The current carrier began flying in August 2019.
Location
The company headquarters are located withi ...
for two -800s revived interest in the shorter variant. A firm order from Kuwait Airways for eight A330-800s followed in October 2018, making it the largest customer of the type; it was subsequently confirmed that Kuwait Airways would be the launch customer for the -800, with certification expected in mid-2019 and first deliveries in the first half of 2020.
On 8 April 2019, Uganda National Airlines Company firmed up its order for two -800s.
Compared to the competing 787-8 with similar engines, the A330-800 has a 1% fuel-per-trip disadvantage (−5% for being heavier but +4% for the longer wingspan) but consumes 4% less fuel per seat with 13 more seats in an eight-abreast configuration, and 8% less with 27 more seats at nine-abreast with wide seats and aisles: the -800 is longer by 4 rows or 2.5 m (130 in).
Airbus could limit its MTOW
The maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) or maximum gross takeoff weight (MGTOW) or maximum takeoff mass (MTOM) of an aircraft is the maximum weight at which the pilot is allowed to attempt to take off, due to structural or other limits. The analogous ...
to and derate its engines to to optimise for the shorter routes to be targeted by the Boeing NMA, with the A321XLR tackling the lower end of the same niche.
The A330-800 received EASA type certification on 13 February 2020.
The first aircraft, configured with 226 seats including 23 in business class, was to be delivered to Kuwait Airways in March, but the airline postponed delivery until the third quarter of 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. On 29 October, the first two A330-800s were delivered to Kuwait Airways; the airline has six more -800s on order. The A330-800 then operated its first revenue flight on 20 November, flying the short distance between Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
and Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
. Uganda Airlines received their first A330-800 on 21 December, with the second unit expected in January 2021.
Freighter
Amazon Air
Amazon Air, operating under the callsign Prime Air, is a cargo airline operating exclusively to transport Amazon packages. In 2017, it changed its name from Amazon Prime Air to Amazon Air to differentiate themselves from their autonomous drone ...
and UPS Airlines
UPS Airlines is a major American cargo airline based in Louisville, Kentucky. The second-largest cargo airline worldwide ( in terms of freight volume flown), UPS Airlines flies to 815 destinations worldwide. A wholly owned subsidiary of UPS (Unit ...
pushed for a freighter version, stretching the A330-900 to carry more cargo over a shorter range, but retired 767s and A330s provide a lot of conversion potential.
Development cost would be lower than for a new program as much of the engineering has already been done for the A330-200F, and more volume would be more appealing to express carriers.
Market
Third party analysis for a 3,350 nmi transatlantic flight
A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Central America, or South America, or ''vice versa''. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing air ...
shows that the 787
787 may refer to:
* Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a jet airliner
* AD 787, a year
* 787 BC, a year
* Mazda 787/787B, a Japanese rotary-engine race car which won the 1991 Le Mans Race
* Porsche 787, a race car from the 1960s
* 787 series, a train model o ...
-9 has a slight advantage over the A330-900 in cash cost per available seat miles, while the Airbus outperforms the Boeing once capital costs are included, based on the A330-900 cost an estimated $10.6m less.[
They have close economics but the A330neo costs up to $30m less, according to another publication.]
An A330-900 is worth $115 million in 2018, while a new B787-9 valuation is $145 million, up from $135 million in 2014, but it may have been sold for $110–15 million to prevent A330neo sales.
Between the 2004 launch of the Dreamliner and the A330neo launch in 2014, the market was split almost equally between both, with between 900 and 920 A330ceos sold against 950 to 1,000 787-8/9s.
Between 2014 and the neo first flight in October 2017, the A330/A330neo had orders (excluding freighters) compared to 272 for the 787-8/9 (excluding the -10), or since the 787 launch, A330ceo/neos compared to 787-8/9s.
Teal Group's Richard Aboulafia believes that the A330neo should dominate the lower range and lower capacity end of the twin aisle market because the 787-8 has the high operating economics and unit price associated with its 8,000-nm range.[
]Flightglobal
FlightGlobal is an online news and information website which covers the aviation and aerospace industries.
The website was established in February 2006 as the website of ''Flight International'' magazine, ''Airline Business'', ''ACAS'', ''Air ...
Ascend Consultancy forecast 600 deliveries including 10% of -800 variants, less optimistic than Airbus' 1,000.
At entry into service in 2018, sales were disappointing and A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...
production was to be cut to 50 in 2019 down from 67 in 2017: while it was the widebody with the largest operator base with 1,390 deliveries since 1993, the fleet was still very young with only 46 aircraft retired. Airbus believed A330 operators would start fleet renewal beginning in 2020.[ With the exception of ]Delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also ...
, industry-leading airlines preferred the Boeing 787.
Between January 2014 and November 2019, the A330/A330neo had net orders (net of cancellations) compared to a total of for all three variants of the 787. The A330neo program was the best-selling Airbus widebody over the same period.[
Airbus believes there is potential for the A330neo in the growing long-haul, low-cost carrier sector.][ While Airbus expected a market for over 1,000 A330neos, one pessimistic forecast reported in 2018 came in as low as 400 sales, in that the A330neo was late to the market and fuel prices had declined markedly over the years, reducing demand. 19% of A330 operators are already 787 customers though some A330 operators have been dual sourcing from both Boeing and Airbus. Leeham News, on the one hand considered the A330-800 does not really cover the upper end of New Midsize Airplane studied by Boeing for some years, on the other hand stated that the A330-800 provides Airbus a cost-effective entry to the upper end of the ]middle of the market
The middle of the market, often abbreviated MoM, is the airliner market between the narrowbody and the widebody aircraft, a market segmentation used by Boeing Commercial Airplanes since at least 2003. Both Airbus and Boeing produce aircraft th ...
. In May 2019, Airbus's chief commercial officer made clear the company has a “rock”, the A321neo, and a “hard place”, the A330-800, for any airframer intending to bring a new airplane into the middle of the market at a time when Boeing was mired in the 737 MAX crisis.
Compared to a 283-seat, 9-abreast 787-9, Airbus claims a 1% lower fuel burn for the -900: 3% higher due to the higher OEW
Empty weight (EW) is the sum of the ‘as built’ manufacturer's empty weight (MEW), plus any standard items (SI) plus any operator items (OI), EW = MEW + SI + OI. The EW is calculated for each aircraft series and each unique configuration of an a ...
, but 4% lower due to the wider wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...
, and 3% lower fuel burn per seat in a 287-seat, 8-abreast configuration, reaching 7% with a 303-seat, 9-abreast layout.
Operators
There were 78 aircraft in service with 19 operators .
The five largest operators of A330neo are TAP Air Portugal (19), Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along ...
(19), Lion Air
PT Lion Mentari Airlines, operating as Lion Air, is an Indonesian low-cost airline. Based in Jakarta, Lion Air is the country's largest privately run airline, the second largest low-cost airline in Southeast Asia (after AirAsia) and the large ...
(8), Azul Brazilian Airlines
Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras S/A (''Azul Brazilian Airlines''; or simply Azul) is a Brazilian carrier based in Barueri, a suburb of São Paulo. The company's business model is to stimulate demand by providing frequent and affordable air serv ...
(5) and Corsair International
Corsair International, legally ''Corsair S.A.'' and previously ''Corsairfly'' and ''Corse Air International'', is a French charter airline headquartered in Rungis and based at Orly Airport. It is a subsidiary of German investor Intro Aviation (53 ...
(5).
List of operators
Former Operator:
Citilink
PT Citilink Indonesia, operating as Citilink, is a low-cost airline headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia. Established in July 2001 as a low-cost brand of Garuda Indonesia, it operates shuttle services between Indonesian cities. Since 30 July 2012 ...
& Thai Lion Air
Thai Lion Mentari Co. Ltd, trading as Thai Lion Air ( th, ไทยไลอ้อนแอร์), is a Thai low-cost airline, operating with Thai partners as an associate company of Lion Air of Indonesia. The carrier operates from Bangkok's Do ...
Orders and deliveries
; Orders and deliveries by type and year
A330neo family orders and deliveries by year (cumulative)
ImageSize = width:auto height:300 barincrement:65
PlotArea = left:45 bottom:15 top:10 right:18
AlignBars = justify
DateFormat = yyyy
Period = from:0 till:360
TimeAxis = orientation:vertical
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:25 start:0
PlotData=
color:skyblue width:45
bar:2014 from:start till:120 text:120 align:center
bar:2015 from:start till:172 text:172 align:center
bar:2016 from:start till:214 text:214 align:center
bar:2017 from:start till:220 text:220 align:center
bar:2018 from:3 till:238 text:238 align:center
bar:2019 from:44 till:337 text:337 align:center
bar:2020 from:57 till:331 text:331 align:center
bar:2021 from:69 till:353 text:353 align:center
color:powderblue width:45
bar:2022 from:89 till:278 text:278 align:center
color:green width:45
bar:2018 from:start till:3 text:3 align:center
bar:2019 from:start till:44 text:44 align:center
bar:2020 from:start till:57 text:57 align:center
bar:2021 from:start till:69 text:69 align:center
bar:2022 from:start till:89 text:89 align:center
; Orders and deliveries by customer
; Orders and deliveries graph
ImageSize = width:650 height:750
PlotArea = left:150 bottom:75 top:10 right:30
AlignBars = justify
Period = from:0 till:40
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
Colors =
id:line1 value:gray(0.9)
id:line2 value:gray(0.7)
id:Ord value:skyblue legend:Orders
id:Del value:green legend:Deliveries
Legend = position:top orientation:vertical columns:1 top:50
ScaleMajor = start:0 increment:10 gridcolor:line2
ScaleMinor = start:0 increment:5 gridcolor:line1
Define $Del = color:green align:center width:11 shift:(0,-4) from:start textcolor:white
Define $Ord = color:skyblue align:center width:11 shift:(0,-4)
BarData =
bar:DeltaAirlines text:Delta Air Lines
bar:AirLeaseCorp text:Air Lease Corporation
bar:IranAir text:Iran Air
bar:CITLeasing text:CIT Leasing
bar:Undisclosed text:Undisclosed
bar:CebuPacific text:Cebu Pacific
bar:GarudaIndonesia text:Garuda Indonesia
bar:AirAsiaX text:Air Asia X
bar:TAPAirPortugal text:TAP Air Portugal
bar:NAS text:NAS
bar:KuwaitAirways text:Kuwait Airways
bar:ITAAirways text:ITA Airways
bar:Avolon text:Avolon
bar:Condor text:Condor
bar:BOCAviation text:BOC Aviation
bar:VirginAtlantic text:Virgin Atlantic
bar:MiddleEastAirlines text:Middle East Airlines
bar:AZul text:Azul
bar:Aircalin text:Aircalin
bar:AirSenegal text:Air Senegal
bar:Arkia text:Arkia
bar:LionAir text:Lion Air
bar:UgandaAirlines text:Uganda Airlines
bar:AirCôted'Ivoire text:Air Côte d'Ivoire
bar:AirGreenland text:Air Greenland
Define $A10 = width:12 fontsize:S shift:(0,-4) align:center textcolor:white # Normal bar, white text
Define $A20 = width:12 fontsize:S shift:(20,-4) align:right # Normal bar, black text
PlotData =
bar:AirAsiaX $Ord from:start till:15 text:15
bar:Aircalin color:Del $A10 from:start till:2 text:2
bar:AirCôted'Ivoire $Ord from:start till:2 text:2
bar:AirGreenland color:Del $A10 from:start till:1 text:1
bar:AirLeaseCorp color:Ord $Ord from:17 till:30 text:30
bar:AirLeaseCorp color:Del $A10 from:start till:17 text:17
bar:AirSenegal color:Del $A10 from:start till:2 text:2
bar:Avolon color:Ord $Ord from:5 till:9 text:9
bar:Avolon color:Del $A10 from:start till:5 text:5
bar:Azul $Ord from:start till:3 text:3
bar:BOCAviation color:Del $A10 from:start till:6 text:6
bar:CebuPacific color:Ord $Ord from:4 till:16 text:16
bar:CebuPacific color:Del $A10 from:start till:4 text:4
bar:CITLeasing color:Ord $Ord from:12 till:25 text:25
bar:CITLeasing color:Del $A10 from:start till:12 text:12
bar:Condor $Ord from:start till:7 text:7
bar:DeltaAirlines color:Ord $Ord from:17 till:36 text:36
bar:DeltaAirlines color:Del $A10 from:start till:17 text:17
bar:GarudaIndonesia color:Ord $Ord from:3 till:16 text:16
bar:GarudaIndonesia color:Del $A10 from:start till:3 text:3
bar:IranAir $Ord from:start till:28 text:28
bar:ITAAirways $Ord from:start till:10 text:10
bar:KuwaitAirways color:Ord $Ord from:4 till:11 text:11
bar:KuwaitAirways color:Del $A10 from:start till:4 text:4
bar:LionAir color:Del $A10 from:start till:2 text:2
bar:Arkia color:Del $A10 from:start till:2 text:2
bar:MiddleEastAirlines $Ord from:start till:4 text:4
bar:NAS $Ord from:start till:12 text:12
bar:TAPAirPortugal color:Ord $Ord from:10 till:12 text:12
bar:TAPAirPortugal color:Del $A10 from:start till:10 text:10
bar:UgandaAirlines color:Del $A10 from:start till:2 text:2
bar:Undisclosed $Ord from:start till:20 text:20
bar:VirginAtlantic $Ord from:start till:5 text:5
Specifications
See also
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
{{Airbus aircraft
Airbus A330
A330neo
2010s international airliners
Aircraft first flown in 2017
Twinjets
Low-wing aircraft
Wide-body aircraft