Newest Member Of The Wide-Body Aircraft Takes Shape

Airbus has commenced the final assembly of its first A330neo, an A330-900, at its Final Assembly Line in Toulouse with the joining of the wings to the center fuselage at station 40.

Both the A330-800 and A330-900 feature a new A350-inspired wing with Sharklet wingtip devices for state-of-the-art aerodynamics, incorporating latest-generation Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines.

“We have started with a very tight development schedule and are today right on time,” says Odile Jubécourt, Airbus Head of the A330neo programme. “I am happy to say we are in good shape to meet the high standards of maturity and reliability our customers expect from us and I want to thank the teams for this outstanding achievement.”

Thanks to its low, new generation fuel-burn, the A330neo expands its operators’ market opportunities by offering an additional 400 nautical miles range, leading to a 6,550 nautical miles range on the A330-900 and 7,500 nautical miles on the A330-800. To date, 10 customers have ordered a total of 186 A330neo.

The A330-800 and the A330-900 are 99 per cent common, sharing a 95 per cent commonality across the entire A330 fleet, set to optimize costs and flexibility for all its operators.

(Image provided with Airbus news release)

FMI: www.airbus.com