Airbus delivers first A330 Regional to Saudia

Saudi Arabian Airlines, has taken delivery of its first A330-300 Regional. Saudia is launch customer for this new version of the A330. The airline has ordered 20 aircraft of the type.

First 242 tonne A330 flies

Airbus has flown the first 242 tonne Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) variant of the A330-300 for the first time on Monday 12 January. The maiden flight, departing from Toulouse Blagnac Airport, lasted 3 hours and 30 minutes.

Avolon firms up A330neo order

The Dublin-based, global aircraft leasing firm Avolon has firmed up an earlier announced contract for 15 Airbus A330neo aircraft.

Avolon became one of the launch customers of the A330neo after signing its initial commitment in July 2014 at the Farnborough International Airshow. The number of firm orders for the A330neo is now well over one hundred aircraft. (Image: Airbus)

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Airbus A330-200s for long-haul Eurowings

Lufthansa launches a new low-cost long-haul airline under the Eurowings brand. The renewed subsidiary airline will start operations in late 2015 from Cologne/Bonn Airport. Lufthansa will lease up to seven Airbus A330-200 aircraft for the new operation.

CIT firms up A330neo order

Aircraft leasing company CIT Aerospace has firmed up its order for 15 A330-900neo aircraft. CIT became one of the launch customers of the A330neo after signing its initial agreement in July 2014, at the Farnborough International Airshow. CIT also ordered five A321ceo narrowbody aircraft. (Image: Airbus)

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Airbus A330 MRTT for French air force

The French government has announced an order for twelve Airbus A330 multirole tanker and transport aircraft for its military services.

The first aircraft will be delivered in 2018, the second in 2019 and then two per year until the order is complete. The aircraft will replace obsolete Boeing C-135FR tankers in use since the 1960s.

Main task of the A330 MRTT is in-flight refueling of other aircraft. Air forces already using the A330 tanker-transport version, are those of the UK, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

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Airbus launches A330 Beluga

Airbus has launched the development and production of five new Beluga aircraft. The new Belugas will be based on the A330 with a large re-use of existing components and equipment.
The first of the five new Belugas will enter in service in mid-2019. The existing Beluga fleet will operate in parallel, and will be progressively retired through to 2025.

Common type rating pilot training for A350 and A330

European and US civil aviation authorities have approved common type rating pilot training on the Airbus A350 XWB and A330 widebody jetliners.

The approval means that pilots who are qualified and current on the A330 can already commence their preparations to take the A350 XWB’s controls by undergoing "differences training" only.

Airbus slows down A330 production

Airbus has decided to slow down the production rate for the A330 from the current rate of ten to nine aircraft a month in the fourth quarter of 2015 as it transitions towards the A330neo.

Since 2013, Airbus has been building ten A330 Family aircraft each month, the industry’s highest ever production rate for this aircraft size category.

Airbus signs for A330 completion centre in China

Airbus and its Chinese partners (the Tianjin Free Trade Zone (TJFTZ) and the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC)), have re-confirmed their intention to set up an A330 Completion and Delivery Centre in Tianjin by signing a Letter of Intent (LoI).

The A330 Completion and Delivery Centre in Tianjin (C&DC Tianjin) will likely cover activities such as cabin installation, aircraft painting, engine runs and aircraft delivery. The aircraft would first be assembled in Toulouse and then fly to China for their completion in Tianjin.

Iberia to become new A330-200 operator

IAG has decided to convert eight previously announced Airbus A330-200 options into firm orders for Spain’s flag carrier Iberia. The airline will become a new operator of the A330-200.

Cathay to phase out A340s and 747s

Hong Kong's all-widebody-operator Cathay Pacific is to phase out part of its fleet of Boeing 747-400s and all of its A340-300s in 2016 and 2017, as part of its fleet renewal plan. The airline announced that it intends to sell six of its B747-400Fs back to Boeing with four of them already parked. Four passenger 747-400s are also to be retired with two of them having been withdrawn from service this month.

BH Air takes delivery of AirbusA330

The Bulgarian holiday airline BH Air (Balkan Holidays Air) has taken delivery of an Airbus A330. It is of the A330-200 version and according to the airline it will be flying between Sofia and the USA. The airline earlier asked approval for flights to New York JFK and Chicago O'Hare. The airline so far operated only smaller Airbus aircraft types: A319 and A320. The A330 (LZ-AWA) is leased from AerCap.(Photo: BH Air)

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A350s and A330s replace Iberia A340s

International Airlines Group (IAG - British Airways, Iberia, Vueling) has converted eight Airbus A350-900 options into firm orders for Iberia. The airline becomes a new customer for the fast-selling A350XWB Family.

Hawaiian wants six Airbus A330-800neo aircraft

US carrier Hawaiian Airlines has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for six Airbus A330-800neo aircraft. The commitment replaces a previous order placed by Hawaiian for six Airbus A350-800s, which still isn't officially cancelled, but that will not take long now. Hawaiian was among the biggest supporters of the smallest version of the A350. There are now only 28 orders left for the A350-800, from Aeroflot (8), Asiana (8), Yemenia (10) and lessor AWAS (2).

"The A330-800neo’s fuel efficiency, additional range and commonality with our existing A330 fleet makes the A330-800neo an elegant solution to our need for growth aircraft toward the end of this decade," said Mark Dunkerley, President and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines.

The A330-800neo will serve the Hawaiian network as the airline continues to expand in Asia and grow its capacity in mature markets. Hawaiian Airlines currently operates a fleet of 18 A330-200 aircraft, with additional orders for 16 A321neo aircraft on backlog.

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Transaero orders twenty Airbus A330s

Transaero Airlines, Russia’s second largest airline, has signed a Letter of Intent for a total of twenty Airbus A330 aircraft (eight A330ceo and twelve A330neo). The agreement makes Transaero an important launch customer and the first European airline to commit to the A330neo. The A330s will be operated on Transaero's medium and long-haul domestic and international network.

Transaero Airlines launched services in November 1991, and currently serves more than 200 routes all over the world. The airline als has four Airbus A380s on order, the first of which will enter into service at the end of 2015.

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Air Mauritius chooses Airbus A350-900

Air Mauritius, the flag carrier of Mauritius, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for four Airbus A350-900 aircraft. The agreement was announced during the Farnborough Airshow. The airline also announced that it is going to lease two more A350-900s. The six A350 XWBs will be operated on European, Asian and Australian routes.

Air Mauritius currently operates Airbus A330-200 and A340-300 aircraft on its intercontinental network.

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AirAsia X wants 50 A330neo aircraft

AirAsia X is a fan of the Airbus A330neo for some time and now Airbus has launched the new version of its best-selling widebody aircraft, the airline has signed a Memorandum of Understand (MoU) for 50 A330-900neo aircraft. The agreement sees the airline become a launch customer and it will be one of the first operators of the aircraft, with deliveries to the carrier scheduled to begin in 2018. The agreement was signed at the Farnborough Airshow.

"We have been encouraging Airbus to launch this new version of the A330 for some time now," said Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Co-Founder and Director of AirAsia X at Farnborough. "I am pleased that they are offering this choice and bringing us the aircraft we truly need to develop further our low cost long haul model."

AirAsia X is one of Airbus’s largest customers. In total the Group has ordered 536 Airbus aircraft, excluding the A330neo MoU.

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Second life for Airbus A330

Many aviation people expected it: Airbus officially launched the A330neo (new engine option) at the Farnborough International Airshow.

The A330neo programme comprises two versions: the A330-800neo and A330-900neo. The A330-800neo retains the current-production A330-200's fuselage length, while the A330-900neo uses the longer fuselage of the A330-300.