Airbus A330neo Passenger Jet

The A330neo series from Airbus is a new addition to the company’s wide-body passenger aircraft family. The two versions of the A330neo series, namely the A330-800neo and A330-900neo, were launched by Airbus during the UK’s Farnborough Air Show in June 2014.

The A330neo is a redesigned variant of the A330 wide-body jet airliner. Air Lease Corporation (ALC) is the launch customer for the A330-900neo aircraft. The company signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for 25 A330-900neo aircraft in July 2014.

Airbus started production of the first A330neo in September 2015 and the maiden flight of the first A330-900 was completed in October 2017. The first A330-800 completed its maiden flight in November 2018 and the first A330-900 was delivered to TAP Air Portugal in the same month.

Orders and deliveries of the A330neo series

A total of ten orders for A330-800 and 230 orders have been placed for A330-900 as of May 2019.

Kuwait Airlines placed orders for eight A330-800 aircraft in October 2018 and Uganda Airlines ordered two A330-800 aircraft in July 2018.

Aircalin and Air Senegal each ordered two A330-900 aircraft and the delivery of one aircraft was made to Air Senegal. Boc Aviation and Israel’s Arkia placed orders for two A330-900 aircraft each.

Middle East Airlines placed orders for the delivery of four aircraft while TAP Air Portugal ordered ten aircraft, all of which are operational.

A total of 14 aircraft were ordered by Garuda Indonesia, while CIT Leasing and Avolon Airlines placed orders for 15 aircraft each. Air Lease placed orders for 25 aircraft, of which three have been delivered.

Iran Air ordered 28 aircraft, whereas Delta Airlines placed orders for 35 aircraft and AirAsia X Malaysia ordered for 66 A330-900 aircraft. An undisclosed customer has placed orders for ten A300-900 aircraft.

A total of eight A330-900 aircraft are operational of which Air Mauritius and Air Senegal operate one aircraft each while TAP Air Portugal operates the remaining six.

Design and features of the A330neo series

The new A330neo twin-aisle jet features the latest generation Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines. The new engines with aerodynamic enhancements reduce fuel consumption by 14% a seat. The new series has an increased range of up to 400 nautical miles.

The A330-300’s fuselage is being used for the A330-900neo whereas the A330-800neo incorporates A330-200’s fuselage, which is shorter than that of the A330-300.

Derived from the A330 jetliners family, the A330neo has more than 95% spares similar to the existing A330 jetliners.

The improvements include new winglets inspired by A350 XWB style, which helps in enhancing the lift-to-drag ratio, and increased wingspan (+ 3.7m) meeting Category E airport requirements. The enhancements further include new engine pylons for 4%aerodynamic improvements and new sharklets.

The enhanced version of the A330 series has optimised upper belly fairing and wing twist. The maximum design weight of the two new versions of the A330 varies. The maximum take-off weight of both the new A330neo planes is 251t.

A330-800neo has a maximum landing weight (MLW) of 186t while the MLW of the A330-900neo is 191t. The maximum zero fuel weight (MZFW) of the new A330-800neo is 172/176t, whereas the A330-900neo has an MZFW of 177/181t.

The overall length of the A330-800 aircraft is 58.82m and the length of A330-900 is 63.66m. The wingspan of both the aircraft is 64m. The cabin length of A330-800 is 45m and that of A330-900 is 50.37m.

Cabin and interiors

The new aircraft integrates latest generation cockpit systems. The cabin of A330-900neo features up to ten additional 18in-wide seats in the economy class, while A330-800neo features six extra seats.

The seats on the A330neo are wider than the 16.9in seats of the 787 aircraft. Passengers are provided with advanced features such as fourth generation in-flight entertainment. The aircraft will also offer LED mood lighting and Wi-Fi connectivity.

The longer fuselage of the A330-900neo provides seating for up to 440 passengers and the A330-800neo can seat up to 406 passengers.

The lower deck mobile crew rest area includes separate flight and cabin crew rest areas. Deriving experience from the A320 Family of aircraft, the toilets have been newly designed in Space-Flex and Smart-Lav configurations.

Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engine

The Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 builds upon the experience from Trent 700, which is the first engine in the Trent family of engines powering the A330 series aircraft. The engine will deliver a high-level take-off performance with a thrust of 72,000lb, the highest in-service.

The design of the engine incorporates materials that can handle pressures and temperatures at 75,000lb thrust.

The engine has lower levels of lifecycle fuel burn, cumulative emissions and noise. It also delivers better performance benefits and cost savings than the current version of the Trent 700.

Performance

The A330-800neo has a maximum passenger range of 7,450nm, while the A330-900neo can achieve a maximum range of 6,200nm. The maximum fuel capacity of both A330neo versions is 139,090l.