Airbus A330

Airbus A330

The Airbus A330 is a midsize, twin-engined widebody airliner for medium range flights. It seats between 250 and 350 passengers. Airbus launched the A330 in June 1987 together with the four-engined, long-range A340 as one single aircraft programme.

Airbus Industrie's first airliner, the A300, started life as a short-range aircraft, but from the early days of its history, the European aircraft manufacturing consortium made plans to develop stretched and longer-range family-members. On the drawing boards were, among others, the A300B9, a stretched twinjet, and the A300B11, a four-engined very long range sister-aircraft. Later these projects were renamed TA9 (TA=Twin Aisle) and TA11. Because both proposed aircraft had a lot in common, they emerged as two versions of a single type in 1986, when Airbus renamed them 'A330' and 'A340'. At that time, Airbus argued that a big very-long-haul twin could never be as efficient as a four engined aircraft. Twins needed to be much overpowered to survive loss of one engine situations. One engine lost means the loss of 50 percent of thrust for a twin, but only 75 percent for a quad. To keep the aircraft in the air, a twin would also need a bigger tailplane and a heavier wing structure.

Apart from the propulsion system, the A330 and A340 have almost identical airframes and systems. Each of the two aircraft is optimised for its own task. According to the manufacturer, a big twin would be less efficient than a four-engined jet over very long sectors. But, although the A340 is the real long-hauler, the A330 also got an impressive range of 8,700 km (4,700 nm), with an option of even 10,200 km (5,500 nm).

The four-engined aircraft was the first to fly, and therefore it was originally designated 'A330'. Hoewever, Airbus salesmen couldn't convince potential customers that it was logical to have an aircraft with a '4' in its name had only two engines and its four-engined sister aircraft didn't. So airbus decided to swap the designations: the four-engined jt became the 'A340' and the somewhat later twin the A330'.

First flight

The A330 and A340 had an excellent sales start and within a few years after the launch, there were around 500 commitments (orders and options) for the two aircraft models together. After this hopeful start, however, sales slowed down and Airbus had to revise its planned production rates downwards. Reasons for this were overcapacity in the market in the early 1990s and the bad financial shape of many airlines. With its first flight on November 2, 1992, the A330 became the biggest twin to have flown until that time. Eight A330s were involved in the flight test and certification programme. (Photo: Airbus) Joint certification followed on October 21, 1993, by the European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The A330 and A340 were assembled together on one final production line. (Photo: Airbus). The fuselage has the same cross section as the A300, A310 and A340, allowing eight or nine abreast seating in the economy class. Airbus offers three engine models on the A330: the General Electric CF6-80E1, Pratt & Whitney PW4168 and Rolls-Royce Trent 700. The A330 became the first Airbus aircraft with Rolls-Royce engines. Because all three engines were already well proven, Airbus could acquire early ETOPS certification for the A330. The cockpit is almost identical with that of the A340, except that it is for two engines instead of four. The handling characteristics of the A330 and A340 are almost the same too. All this is enough to allow a single type-rating for pilots. Pilots can also easily move to and from flying A320 family-members.

Versions

Airbus initially produced three main versions of the A330: the A330-300, the A330-200 and the A330-200F Freighter. Later it started the development of the A330-800neo and the A330-900neo.

A330-300

The A330-300 is the first production version. It seats 335 passengers in a two-class cabin layout. The first operator was the French domestic airline Air Inter. (Photo: Airbus) It put the new type into service on January 17, 1994, between Paris Orly and Marseille. Initially, its maximum takeoff weight was 233 tonnes and its range 11,750 km (6,350 nm). Later versions weighed 235, 240 and 242 tons, increasing payload and range. With 780 sold, the A330-300 is the most popular version, although with 662 orders, the A330-200 is not really far behind.

The A330-300 Regional is aimed at airlines operating in regions with congested and slot-restricted airports where they cannot increase frequencies with smaller jets like Boeing 737 and A320 Family aircraft. According to Airbus there is a need for high-capacity aircraft on routes for which the A330, 777 and 787 offer too much range and are unnecessary heavy. On short flights, fewer galleys are needed, so that some extra seats could be installed. However, the A330 Regional is as heavy as standard A330-300s, but is certified for lower weights, thrusts and ranges. It is not really a short-range aircraft, there is only a difference on paper. The idea is to get a reduction on landing fees and navigation charges. The first A330-300 Regional was delivered to Saudia in August 2016.

A330-200

When sales of the A330-300 became disappointing during the early 1990s, Airbus developed the ten frames (5,30 m, 17 ft) shortened A330-200, which was marginal shorter than the very long range A340-200. The 200 Series offers increased weight, more fuel capacity, a strengthened wing and more range - 12,000 km (6,500 nm) - more than the competing Boeing 767-300ER and 767-400. The tailfin is 1.00 m (3 ft 4 in) higher and has 6 per cent more chord. The tailplane contains a trim fuel tank, like the Airbus A310-300 and A340 have.

Airbus continued to offer its customers a choice of three engines. Airbus considered to name the shorter aircraft 'A329' or A330M10 ('minus 10 frames'), but in the end it became the 'A330-200'. The first flight took place on August 13, 1997, and certification followed in March 1998. The A330-200 entered service with Canada 3000 in April 1998. The A330-200 gave a boost to A330 sales, although in later years the bigger A330-300 grew in popularity again. The aircraft appeared a good replacement for McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30s and Lockheed TriStars.

A330-200F

Airbus launched the A330-200F cargo version in January 2006. It first flew on November 5, 2009, and Airbus delivered the first aircraft to Etihad Cargo in July 2010. The A330-200F carries loads of up to 70 tonnes and succeeded the A300-600F in the Airbus portfolio. The freighter variant has a large maindeck cargo door, a revised nosewheel bay and a blister fairing under the nose. The blister was necessary because the nosewheel gear is put in a lower position to address the characteristic nose-down pitch of the passenger A330 (and A340) aircraft. Thanks to this modification the cabin floor becomes horizontal, easing the loading and unloading of cargo. With 38 aircraft sold, the A330-200F is far less popular than the A300-600F, and the Boeing 777F and 767-300F also sell better.

There are also passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversions available for both the A330-200 and the A330-300. The first adapted aircraft was an A330-300P2F, converted by Elbe Flugzeugwerke in Germany. It first flew on October 4, 2017, and was delivered to DHL Express on December 1 the same year.

A330 MRTT

For military applications like transport and aerial tanking, Airbus developed the A330 MRTT (Multirole Transport and Tanker), based on the A330-200F. 46 have been ordered by several air forces. Soms MRTTs are new from the factory, others are converted passenger aircraft. In February 2008, the USAF selected the EADS/Northrop Grumman KC-45, an Airbus A330MRTT version, as its new tanker aircraft over the Boeing 767, to replace its ageing KC-135s. The selection was initially for 179 aircraft, with the prospect of more to come, because the USAF had to replace more than 500 KC-135s and later also its KC-10s. Airbus made its proposal as attractive as possible for the USAF by cooperating with Northrop Grumman for the military installations on the aircraft, production in Mobile, Alabama, in the US and propulsion by American General Electric CF6-80E1 engines. In spite of all this, Airbus's fortunes soon reversed. After protests by Boeing and a lot of political turmoil, the USAF, on second thoughts, cancelled the A330 selection and chose the Boeing KC-767 instead.

A330-100

Airbus considered an even shorter version than the A330-200, the A330-100 (later 'A330-500'), for very long ranges, but also to replace ageing A300s and A310s. The idea was to shrink the aircraft with 4.80 m (15 ft) compared with the A330-200. At first, the idea was to give it an improved A300-600 wing, but after some time, Airbus proposed the A330-wing. However, it was not built, not as 'A330-100' and not as 'A330-500'. Also not built were the stretched A330-400 and -600, proposed as twin-engined sisters of the four-engined A340-500 and A340-600.
The A330-200Lite had to compete with Boeing's (cancelled) short range version of the 787, the 787-8. It would have lower weights and de-rated engines, and a range of 'only' 7,400 km (4,000 nm). Airbus hoped to convince Singapore Airlines to choose this aircraft as a replacement for its Airbus A310-300s.

A330neo

When Boeing launched the 787 Dreamliner, Airbus at first intended to counter with a re-engined A330, designated "A350". Airbus even launched this version in 2005. However, the airlines and aircraft lessors didn't like it and wanted something more than just an A330 with new engines. So, in the end Airbus decided to develop an all new design as A350 XWB (Xtra Wide Body).

Because the Dreamliner suffered a lot of delay, Airbus sold many extra standard A330s to airlines which needed to fill the gap until the delivery of their 787s. And after the Dreamliner went into service and Airbus was developing the A350 XWB, some airlines considered these two new aircraft were too much optimised for very long routes and because of that they were less efficient on shorter flights. These airlines preferred a lighter aircraft like an A330 with new engines but less range than the A350 and 787.

Launch

Airbus hesitated to revive the old idea of a re-engined A330, but a growing number of airlines appeared more interested in an A330neo (new engine option) than in the same-size A350-800, the projected smallest version of the A350 XWB. After some deliberation, Airbus decided to launch the A330neo at the Farnborough International Airshow on July 14, 2014. The first customers committing to the A330neo were AirAsiaX, now defunct Transaero Airlines and some leasing companies. When the neo arrived on the market, the earlier versions were designated A330ceo (current engine option).

The A330neo is mostly a revival of the first A350-design. The neo is offered with only one engine option, the Rolls-Royce Trent 7000. Because this engine is heavier than the engines on earlier A330's, Airbus strengthened the wing and developed a new engine pylon. The wing was also extended with 3.70 m (12 ft) more span and was fitted with A350-style sharklets on the tips, which replaced the winglets of the earlier A330s. Thanks to these new engines and aerodynamic refinements, the A330neo burns about 14 per cent less fuel than earlier A330-versions, according to Airbus. Another change is optimisation of the cabin layout to accommodate 6-10 more seats.

Two versions

Airbus developed two versions of the A330neo: the A330-800neo and A330-900neo, both initially with a maximum take-off weight of 242 tonnes. They are the successors of the A330-300 and A330-200 respectively and have the same fuselage lengths as their predecessors. The A330-900neo first flew on October 19, 2017, and received EASA type certification on September 26, 2018, and the first aircraft was delivered to TAP Portugal the same day.

The smaller A330-800 took off for its maiden flight on February 13, 2020, and the first two aircraft were delivered to Kuwait Airways (Photo: Airbus) on October 28, 2019. So far only four airlines have ordered the A330-800: Kuwait Airways (8), Uganda Airlines (2), Garuda (4) and Air Greenland (1). An order from Hawaiian Airlines for six aircraft was cancelled in favour of Boeing 787-9s, and another customer, TransAsia Airlines, went bankrupt. Airbus thinks the time for the A330-800 has yet to come. It expects more orders for this version in the coming years. Because many airlines operate rather young A330-200s, it is not urgent for them to replace those aircraft with A330-800s yet.

BelugaXL

Airbus used the A330 as a platform for a new generation BelugaXL special cargo aircraft, like it did before with the A300. The BelugaXL (Photo: Airbus) is a special adapted version of the A330 for transporting aircraft components between Airbus production locations in Europe. The BelugaXL has a lowered cockpit, a big cargo bay and a revised rear-fuselage and tail. Five new BelugaXLs will replace the five earlier A300 based Beluga transporters. The BelugaXL first flew on July 19, 2018. Airbus put it into service in January 2020.

Until late 2021, Airbus had sold well over 1,800 A330s: 662 A330-200s, 38 A330-200Fs, 780 A330-300s, 15 A300-800neos and 323 A330-900neos.

Airbus A330-200 Specifications

Wingspan: 60.3 m (197 ft 10 in). Length: 58.8 m (188 ft 8 in). Height: 17.40 m (57 ft 1 in).
Empty weight: 119,600 kg (263,700 lb). Max. take-off weight: 233,000 kg (513,700 lb).
Accommodation: 253-406 passengers. Range: 12,500 km (6,750 nm). Cruise speed: 871 km/h (470 kts).
Engines: two GE CF6-80E1A3 or P&W PW4168A or RR Trent 772 (303 - 320 kN / 68,000 - 72,000 lb).

Airbus A330-300 Specifications

Wingspan: 60.3 m (197 ft 10 in). Length: 63.6 m (208 ft 10 in). Height: 16.85 m (55 ft 3 in).
Empty weight: 124,500 kg (274,500 lb). Max. take-off weight: 233,000 kg (513,700 lb).
Accommodation: 295-440 passengers. Range: 10,500 km (5,650 nm). Cruise speed: 871 km/h (470 kts).
Engines: two GE CF6-80E1A3 or P&W PW4168A or RR Trent 772 (303 - 320 kN / 68,000 - 72,000 lb).

Airbus A330-800neo Specifications

Wingspan: 64 m (210 ft 0 in). Length: 58.82 m (193 ft 0 in). Height: 17.40 m (57 ft 1 in).
Max. take-off weight: 242,000 or 251,000 kg (534,000 or 553,000 lb).
Accommodation: 257-406. Range: 13,890 km (7,500 nm). Max. speed: 918 km/h (496 kts).
Engines: two Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 (300 - 320 kN / 67,000 - 72,000 lb). (Photo: Airbus)

Airbus A330-900neo Specifications

Wingspan: 64.0 m (210 ft 0 in). Length: 63.66 m (208 ft 10 in). Height: 16.79 m (55 ft 1 in).
Max. take-off weight: 242,000 or 251,000 kg (534,000 or 553,000 lb).
Accommodation: 287-440 passengers. Range: 12,130 km (5,650 nm). Max. speed: 918 km/h (496 kts).
Engines: two Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 (300 - 320 kN / 67,000 - 72,000 lb). (Photo: Airbus)