Airbus A330

"A330" and "A333" redirect here. For the road in England, seeA333 road.For other uses, seeA330 (disambiguation).For the new variant known as the A330neo, seeAirbus A330neo.

Airbus A330
An Airbus A330-300, the first and most common variant, ofTurkish Airlines
General information
Role	Wide-body airliner
National origin	Multi-national
Manufacturer	Airbus
Management and usage	Delta Air Lines Turkish Airlines China Eastern Airlines Cathay Pacific
Number built	1,604 as of June 2024
History
Manufactured	1992–present
Introduction date	17 January 1994 withAir Inter
First flight	2 November 1992(1992-11-02)
In service	1994–present
Developed from	Airbus A300
Developed into	Airbus A330neo
Variations	Airbus A330 MRTT Airbus Beluga XL Airbus CC-330 Husky

TheAirbus A330is awide-body aircraftdeveloped and produced byAirbus. Airbus began developing larger A300 derivatives in the mid-1970s, giving rise to the A330twinjetas well as theA340quadjet,and launched both designs along with their first orders in June 1987. The A330-300, the first variant, took its maiden flight in November 1992 and entered service withAir Interin January 1994. The slightly shorter A330-200 variant followed in 1998 withCanada 3000as the launch operator.

The A330 shares many underpinnings with theairframeof the early A340 variants, most notably the same fuselage and wing components, and by extension the same structure. However, the A330 has two main landing gear legs instead of three, lower weights, and slightly different lengths. Both airliners havefly-by-wirecontrols as well as a similarglass cockpitto increase thecommonality.The A330 was Airbus's first airliner to offer a choice of three engines: theGeneral Electric CF6,Pratt & Whitney PW4000,or theRolls-Royce Trent 700.The A330-300 has arangeof 11,750 km (6,340 nmi; 7,300 mi) with 277 passengers, while the shorter A330-200 can cover 13,450 km (7,260 nmi; 8,360 mi) with 247 passengers. Other variants include the A330-200F dedicatedfreighter,theA330 MRTTmilitarytanker,and theACJ330corporate jet. The A330 MRTT was proposed as theEADS/Northrop Grumman KC-45for the US Air Force'sKC-Xcompetition, but lost to theBoeing KC-46in appeal after an initial win.

In July 2014, Airbus announced there-enginedA330neo(new engine option) comprising A330-800/900, which entered service withTAP Air Portugalin December 2018. With the exclusive, more efficientTrent 7000turbofan and improvements includingsharklets,it offers up to 14% betterfuel economy per seat.The first-generation A330s (-200/200F/300) are now calledA330ceo(current engine option).

Delta Air Linesis the largest operator with 69 airplanes in its fleet as of June 2024.A total of 1,798 orders have been placed for the A330 family, of which 1,604 have been delivered and 1,467 are in service with 148 operators. The global A330 fleet had accumulated more than 65 million flight hours since its entry into service. The A330 is the second most delivered wide-body airliner after theBoeing 777.It competes with theBoeing 767,smaller variants of the Boeing 777, and the787.It is complemented by the largerAirbus A350,which succeeded the four-engined A340.

Development

Background

Airbus jetliners, 1974–1994

Model	A300	A310	A320	A330	A340
Introduced	1974	1983	1988	1994	1993
Body	Wide	Wide	Narrow	Wide	Wide
Engines	2	2	2	2	4
Range	4,050 nmi (7,500 km; 4,660 mi)	4,350 nmi (8,060 km; 5,010 mi)	3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi)	6,350 nmi (11,760 km; 7,310 mi)	7,300 nmi (13,500 km; 8,400 mi)

A330 and A340 seating and range comparison

Airbus's first airliner, the A300, was envisioned as part of a diverse family of commercial aircraft. Pursuing this goal, studies began in the early 1970s into derivatives of the A300.Before introducing the A300, Airbus identified nine possible variations designated B1 through B9.A tenth variant, the A300B10, was conceived in 1973 and developed into the longer-rangeAirbus A310.Airbus then focused its efforts on single-aisle (SA) studies, conceiving a family of airliners later known as theAirbus A320 family,the first commercial aircraft with digitalfly-by-wirecontrols. During these studies Airbus turned its focus back to the wide-body aircraft market, simultaneously working on both projects.

In the mid-1970s, Airbus began development of the A300B9, a larger derivative of the A300, which would eventually become the A330. The B9 was essentially a lengthened A300 with the same wing, coupled with the most powerfulturbofanengines available. It was targeted at the growing demand for high-capacity, medium-range, transcontinental trunk routes.Offering the same range and payload as theMcDonnell Douglas DC-10but with 25 per cent better fuel efficiency,the B9 was seen as a viable replacement for the DC-10 and theLockheed L-1011 TriStartrijets.It was also considered as a medium-ranged successor to the A300.

At the same time, a 200-seat four-engine version, the B11 (which would eventually become the A340) was also under development.The B11 was originally planned to take the place of narrow-bodyBoeing 707sandDouglas DC-8sthen in commercial use, but would later evolve to target the long-range, wide-bodytrijetreplacement market.To differentiate from the SA series, the B9 and B11 were re-designated as the TA9 and TA11, with TA standing for "twin aisle".Development costs were reduced by the two aircraft using the samefuselageand wing, with projected savings of US$500 million. Another factor was the split preference of those within Airbus and, more importantly, those of prospective customers; twinjets were favoured in North America, quad-jets desired in Asia, and operators had mixed views in Europe.Airbus ultimately found that most potential customers favoured four engines for their exemption from existing twinjet range restrictions and their ability to be ferried with one inactive engine.As a result, development plans prioritised the four-engined TA11 ahead of the TA9.

Design effort

Compared to the A330 twinjet (on ground), the heavier A340 (inflight) has four engines and a centre-line wheelbogie.

The first specifications for the TA9 and TA11, aircraft that could accommodate 410 passengers in a one-class layout, emerged in 1982.They showed a large underfloor cargo area that could hold five cargo pallets or sixteenLD3cargo containers in the forward, and four pallets or fourteen LD3s in the aft hold—double the capacity of the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar or DC-10, and 8.46 metres (27.8 ft) longer than the Airbus A300.By June 1985, the TA9 and TA11 had received more improvements, including the adoption of the A320flight deck,digital fly-by-wire (FBW) control system, andside-stickcontrol.Airbus had developed a common cockpit for their aircraft models to allow quick transition by pilots. The flight crews could transition from one type to another after only one week's training, which reduces operator costs.The two TAs would use thevertical stabiliser,rudder,and circular fuselage sections of the A300-600, extended by two barrel sections.

Airbus briefly considered thevariable camber wing,a concept that requires changing the wing profile for a given phase of flight. Studies were carried out byBritish Aerospace(BAe), now part ofBAE Systems,atHatfieldandBristol.Airbus estimated this would yield a two per cent improvement in aerodynamic efficiency,but the feature was rejected because of cost and difficulty of development.A truelaminar flowwing (a low-drag shape that improves fuel efficiency) was also considered but rejected.

With necessary funding available, the Airbus Supervisory Board approved the development of the A330 and A340 with potential customers on 27 January 1986.Its chairmanFranz Josef Straussstated afterwards that

Airbus Industrie is now in a position to finalise the detailed technical definition of the TA9, now officially designated as the A330, and the TA11, now called the A340, with potential launch customer airlines, and to discuss with them the terms and conditions for launch commitments.

The designations were originally reversed and were switched so the quad-jet airliner would have a "4" in its name. Airbus hoped for five airlines to sign for both the A330 and A340, and on 12 May sent sale proposals to the most likely candidates, includingLufthansaandSwissair.

Engines

From the beginning of the TA9's development, a choice ofenginesfrom the three major engine manufacturers,Rolls-Royce,Pratt & Whitney,andGE Aviation,was planned.GE Aviation first offered theCF6-80C2.However, later studies indicated that more thrust was needed to increase the initial power capability from 267 to 289kN(60,000 to 65,000lbf).GE enlarged the CF6-80C2 fan from 236 to 244 centimetres (92.9 to 96.1 in) and reduced the number of fan blades from 38 to 34 to create theCF6-80E1with a thrust of 300–320 kN (67,000–72,000 lbf).

• 
  Rolls-Royce'sTrent 700features amixed exhaust.
• 
  Pratt & Whitney'sPW4000has a more conventional unmixed exhaust.
• 
  TheGE CF6also has an unmixed exhaust, but adds a pointed exhaust cone.

Rolls-Royce initially wanted to use the 267 kN (60,000 lbf)Trent 600to power Airbus's newest twinjet and the upcomingMcDonnell Douglas MD-11.However, the company later agreed to develop an engine solely for the A330, theTrent 700,with a larger diameter and 311 kN (69,900 lbf) of thrust.The A330 became the first Airbus aircraft for which Rolls-Royce supplied engines.

Similarly, Pratt & Whitney signed an agreement that covered the development of the A330-exclusivePW4168.The company increased the fan size from 94 in (2.39 m) to 100 in (2.54 m),enabling the engine to deliver 311 kN (69,900 lbf) of thrust. Like the CF6-80E1, 34 blades were used instead of the 38 found on the smaller PW4000 engines.

Production and testing

A330 final assembly line inToulouse,2007

In preparation for the production of the A330 and the A340, Airbus's partners invested heavily in new facilities. In south-western England, BAe made a£7 million investment in a three-storey technical centre with 15,000 m²(161,000 sq ft) of floor area atFilton.In north Wales, BAe also spent £5 million on a new production line at itsBroughtonwing production plant.In Germany,Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm(MBB) investedDM400 million ($225 million) on manufacturing facilities in theWeserestuary, including atBremen,Einswarden,Varel,andHamburg.France saw the biggest investments, withAérospatialeconstructing a newFr.2.5 billion ($411 million) final-assembly plant adjacent toToulouse-Blagnac AirportinColomiers;by November 1988, the pillars for the newClément Aderassembly hall had been erected.The assembly process featured increased automation, such as robots drilling holes and installing fasteners during the wing-to-fuselage mating process.

On 12 March 1987, Airbus received the first orders for the twinjet. Domestic French airlineAir Interplaced five firm orders and fifteenoptions,whileThai Airways Internationalrequested eight aircraft, split evenly between firm orders and options.Airbus announced the next day that it would formally launch the A330 and A340 programmes by April 1987, with deliveries of the A340 to begin in May 1992 and A330 deliveries to start in 1993.Northwest Airlinessigned a letter of intent for twenty A340s and ten A330s on 31 March.In 2001, the program cost with the A340 was $3.5 billion (equivalent to $5.75 billion in 2023).

BAe eventually received £450 million of funding from the UK government, well short of the £750 million it had originally requested for the design and construction of the wings.The German and French governments also provided funding. Airbus issued subcontracts to companies in Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Greece, Italy, India, Japan, South Korea, Portugal, the United States, and the former Yugoslavia.With funding in place, Airbus launched the A330 and A340 programmes on 5 June 1987, just before theParis Air Show.At that time, the order book stood at 130 aircraft from ten customers, including lessorInternational Lease Finance Corporation(ILFC). Of the order total, forty-one were for A330s.In 1989, Asian carrierCathay Pacificjoined the list of purchasers, ordering nine A330s and later increasing this number to eleven.

The wing-to-fuselage mating of the first A330, the tenth airframe of the A330 and A340 line, began in mid-February 1992. This aircraft, coated with anti-corrosion paint, was rolled out on 31 March without itsGeneral Electric CF6-80E1engines, which were installed by August. During a static test, the wing failed just below requirement; BAe engineers later resolved the problem.At the 1992Farnborough Airshow,Northwest deferred delivery of sixteen A330s to 1994, following the cancellation of its A340 orders.

The first completed A330 was rolled out on 14 October 1992, with themaiden flightfollowing on 2 November. Weighing 181,840 kg (401,000 lb), including 20,980 kg (46,300 lb) of test equipment,the A330 became the largest twinjet to have flown until the first flight of theBoeing 777.The flight lasted five hours and fifteen minutes during which speed, height, and other flight configurations were tested. Airbus intended the test flight programme to comprise six aircraft flying a total of 1,800 hours.On 21 October 1993, the Airbus A330 received the EuropeanJoint Aviation Authorities(JAA) and the USFederal Aviation Administration(FAA) certifications simultaneously after 1,114 cumulative airborne test hours and 426 test flights. At the same time, weight tests came in favourable, showing the plane was 500 kg (1,100 lb) underweight.

On 30 June 1994,a fatal crash occurredduring certification of the Pratt & Whitney engine when an A330 crashed near Toulouse.Both pilots and the five passengers died.The flight was designed to testautopilotresponse during a one-engine-off worst-case scenario with thecentre of gravitynear itsaft limit.Shortly after takeoff, the pilots had difficulty setting the autopilot, and the aircraft lost speed and crashed.An investigation by an internal branch ofDirection Générale d'Aviationconcluded that the accident resulted from slow response and incorrect actions by the crew during the recovery.This led to a revision of A330 operating procedures.

Entry into service

Air Interintroduced the A330-300 on 17 January 1994 as its launch operator.

Air Interbecame the first operator of the A330, having put the aircraft into service on 17 January 1994 betweenOrly Airport,Paris, andMarseille.Deliveries toMalaysia Airlines(MAS) andThai Airways Internationalwere postponed to addressdelaminationof thecomposite materialsin the PW4168 engine'sthrust reverserassembly. Thai Airways received its first A330 during the second half of the year, operating it on routes fromBangkoktoTaipeiandSeoul.Cathay Pacific received its Trent 700 A330s following the certification of that engine on 22 December 1994.MAS received its A330 on 1 February 1995 and then rescheduled its other ten orders.Its initial range was around 4,000 nautical miles but subsequent refinements increased the range of newer models to 5,000 nautical miles and by 2015, the range was 6,100 nautical miles.

Shrinking the -300: the -200

The A330-200 first flew on 13 August 1997.

In response to a decline in A330-300 sales, increased market penetration by theBoeing 767-300ER,and airline requests for increased range and smaller aircraft, Airbus developed the Airbus A330-200.Known as the A329 and A330M10 during development, the A330-200 would offer nine per cent lower operating costs than the Boeing 767-300ER.The plane was aimed at the 11,900 km (6,430nmi;7,390mi) sector, where Airbus predicted demand for 800 aircraft between 1995 and 2015.The project, with US$450 million in expected development costs, was approved by the Airbus Industrie Supervisory Board on 24 November 1995.

Canada 3000was the A330-200's launch operator in April 1998.

The A330-200 first flew on 13 August 1997.The sixteen-month certification process involved logging 630 hours of test flights.The A330-200's first customer was ILFC; these aircraft were leased byCanada 3000,who became the type's first operator.

As Airbus worked on its A330-200,hydraulic pumpproblems were reported by both A330 and A340 operators. This issue was the suspected cause of a fire that destroyed anAir FranceA340-200 in January 1994.On 4 January of that year, a Malaysia Airlines A330-300, while undergoing regular maintenance atSingapore Changi Airport,was consumed by a fire that started in the right-hand main undercarriage well. The incident caused US$30 million in damage, and the aircraft took six months to repair.Consequently, operators were advised to disable electrical pumps in January 1997.

Proposed variants

A330-400/600

In 1996 Airbus evaluated a 12-frame stretch which would be able to carry 380 passengers over almost 7,000 km (3,800 nmi; 4,300 mi), the -400, and a "super-stretch" using theA340-600's 22-frame stretch and powered by 400 kN (90,000 lbf) engines, the -600.

A330-100/-500

In February 2000 it was reported that a 250-seat A330-100 replacement for the A300/A310 could be launched by year end for 2003 deliveries. Shortened and keeping its fly-by-wire cockpit and systems, with a cleaner A300-600 wing with sealed control surfaces and winglets and at least two new engine types among theGE CF6-80, thePW4000and the A340-500/600'sTrent 500aimed for 5% betterSFCthan the A300-600.Its 44.8 m (147 ft) wing allowed a 173 t (381,000 lb) MTOW and 4,200 nmi (7,770 km; 4,830 mi) range. In May, the 210-260 seat design had evolved towards keeping the A330 60.3 m (198 ft) span wing and engines for a 195 tMTOWand 4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) range. Interested customers included Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and Hapag-Lloyd.

Announced in July atFarnborough Air Show,the -500 first flight was targeted for early 2003 and introduction in early 2004.ILFCwould take 10 if it was launched andCITwas interested too. The eight-frame shrink would carry 222 in three classes or 266 in two classes. Its initial 13,000 km (7,000 nmi; 8,100 mi) range would be followed by derated versions for 8,000 km (4,300 nmi; 5,000 mi).The market was lukewarm as airlines like Lufthansa, Hapag-Lloyd and Singapore Airlines were unimpressed by the long-range A330-500, favouring a more refined short-range design. Lack of airline demand made lessors interest wane and as ILFC would order as 30 -500s, it would be with converting rights to larger A330-200/300.

A330-200Lite

To compete with Boeing's7E7(later 787), Airbus offered a minimum-change derivative called the A330-200Litein 2004. As the name indicated, this proposed variant would have had a lower maximum takeoff weight of 202 tonnes (445,000 lb), coupled with de-rated engines, giving a range of 7,400 km (4,000 nmi; 4,600 mi).It was aimed atSingapore Airlines,who had looked to replace its Airbus A310-300s.The variant was also to be a replacement for Airbus A300-600Rs and early Boeing 767s.Airlines, however, were not satisfied with the compromised aircraft; the company instead proceeded with an entirely new aircraft, theA350 XWB.

Further developments

The A330-200F freighter was first delivered toEtihadCargo in July 2010.

Initially, theGE90was only one of threeBoeing 777options, andGE Aviationthen-CEOBrian H. Rowewould have paid for the development of putting it on an A330; however, Airbus' strategy for long-haul was the four-engineA340,missing the market favouring twins.

Responding to laggingA300-600FandA310Fsales, Airbus began marketing the Airbus A330-200F, a freighter derivative of the A330-200, around 2001.The freighter has a range of 7,400 km (4,000 nmi; 4,600 mi) with a 65 tonnes (140,000 lb) payload, or 5,900 km (3,200 nmi; 3,700 mi) with 70 tonnes (150,000 lb).The plane utilises the same nosegear as the passenger version; however, it is attached lower in the fuselage and housed in a distinctive bulbous "blister fairing". This raises the aircraft's nose so that the cargo deck is level during loading, as the standard A330's landing gear results the plane having a nose-down attitude while on the ground.

The A330-200F made its maiden flight on 5 November 2009.This marked the start of a four-month, 180-hour certification programme. JAA and FAA certifications were expected by March the following year although approval by the JAA was delayed until April.The first delivery was subsequently made to theEtihad Airwayscargo division, Etihad Cargo, in July 2010.

On 25 September 2013 at the Aviation Expo China (Beijing Airshow), Airbus announced a new lower weight A330-300 variant, optimised for use on domestic and regional routes in high growth markets with large populations and concentrated traffic flows; China and India were recognised as prime targets.This variant could carry up to 400 passengers.The increased efficiency, however, comes more from the installation of more seats than any weight reduction. On relatively short, yet congested routes, the A330 competes against single-aisle jetliners. While the A330's operating costs in these conditions are not far above those of the Boeing 737 or Airbus A321, the A320neo and 737 MAX promise more efficiency. Where the frequency of flights cannot be increased, using larger aircraft, such as the A330, is the only available option to increase capacity.The first customer for the A330 Regional was announced asSaudiaat the 2015 Paris Air Show.In 2018, the unit cost of an A330-200 was US$238.5M, US$264.2M for an A330-300 and US$241.7M for an A330-200F.

New Engine Option

Main article:Airbus A330neo

First flight of A330-900 on 19 October 2017

The A330neo ( "neo" for "New Engine Option" ) is a development from the initial A330 (now A330ceo— "Current Engine Option" ). A new version with modern engines developed for theBoeing 787was called for by owners of the current A330. It was launched in July 2014 at theFarnborough Airshow,promising 14% betterfuel economy per seat.It will use the largerRolls-Royce Trent 7000exclusively. Its two versions are based on the A330-200 and -300: the -800 should cover 8,150 nmi (15,090 km; 9,380 mi) with 257 passengers while the -900 should cover 7,200 nmi (13,330 km; 8,290 mi) with 287 passengers. The -900 made its first flight on 19 October 2017, received its EASA type certificate on 26 September 2018, and was first delivered toTAP Air Portugalon 26 November. The -800 made its first flight on 6 November 2018, aiming for a mid-2019 type certification and delivery in the first half of 2020.

Production

The 1,000th A330 was delivered on 19 July 2013.

Airbus announced in February 2011 that it intended to raise production rates from seven-and-a-half/eight per month to nine per month in 2012, and ten in 2013.Production increased to 10 aircraft per month in April 2013, the highest for any Airbus wide-body aircraft.In 2012, Airbus expected the A330 to continue selling until at least 2020,with theA350-900expected to replace the A330-300.

On 19 July 2013, Airbus delivered its 1000th A330 to Cathay Pacific.The A330 became the first Airbus wide-body airliner to reach 1,000 deliveries, and the fourth wide-body to achieve the milestone after theBoeing 747,767,and777.As of January 2019, a total of 1,496 A330ceos had been ordered, with 1,437 delivered.

In December 2014, Airbus announced that it would reduce A330 production to nine aircraft per month from ten, because of falling orders. Airbus did not rule out any further production cuts. The announcement led to an immediate drop in Airbus Group's stock price because the company derived a significant percentage of its cash flow and net profit from the A330 program; the A330's financial impact was magnified amid problems in theA350andA380programs.In February 2015, Airbus announced another production rate cut to six aircraft per month in the first quarter of 2016.This would extend A330ceo production to July 2017, allowing for a smooth transition to A330neo production, which was set to start in spring 2017.In February 2016, Airbus announced it would re-increase the production rate from 6 to 7 per month, in response to new A330 orders.

In April 2018, as a result of weakening demand, Airbus announced further rate cuts to 4-5 aircraft a month (50 per year) in 2019.In 2019, Airbus delivered 53 A330s (including 41 A330neos), including some delayed from 2018, and was set to reach a rate of 40 per year, to reflect softer demand for wide-bodies, as the backlog reached 331 (including 293 A330neos) − or 8.3 years' worth of production.

The last A330-200 was delivered toOpenSkies(operating forLEVEL) on October 1, 2019, registered F-HLVN (subsequently reregistered EC-NNH in 2021). The last A330-300 built was registered EI-EIN and flown toBrussels Airporton February 28, 2020;Aer Lingustook delivery on 4 March 2020. At the time, four completed A330-300s for troubledHong Kong Airlineswere still undelivered. A330 MRTT/KC-30B andBelugaXLproduction both continue alongside that of theA330neo.

TheCOVID-19 pandemicreduced demand for new jets in 2020, and Airbus cut its monthly production from 4.5 to 2 A330s. In September 2020, the A330 reached a milestone of 1500 deliveries, Airbus's first twin-aisle aircraft to do so, and the third overall after the Boeing 747 and 777.

Design

A330-200 planform view, showing its 10.06wing aspect ratioand 30°wing sweep

Eight-abreast, 2–4–2 economy class

Thefly-by-wireA330/A340 retains theA320's six-screenglass cockpit.

The A330 is a medium-size, wide-body aircraft, with two engines suspended on pylons under the wings. A two-wheel nose undercarriage and two four-wheelbogiemain legs built byMessier-Dowtysupport the aeroplane on the ground. ItsMTOWgrew from 212 tonnes (467,000 lb) at introduction to 242 tonnes (534,000 lb) in 2015, enhancing its payload-range performance.John Leahystates that it was intentionally being held down in takeoff weight and performance because Airbus avoided overlapping with the A340.

The airframe of the A330 features a low-wingcantilever monoplanewith a wing virtually identical to that of the A340-200/300. On the A330-300, one engine is installed at the inboard pylon while the outboard pylon position is not used; for the A340-300, both engine pylons are used, which allows the A340-300 wing to sustain a higher (wing-limited) MTOW. This is as the A340's two engines at each wing provide a more equal force distribution (engine weight) over the wing, while also the total engine weight counteracting moment is located more outboard with more engine weight located further outboard on the wing, hence the wing root bending moment with equal TOW is less on the A340-300 than on the A330-300. The wings were designed and manufactured by BAe, which developed a long slender wing with a very high aspect ratio to provide high aerodynamic efficiency.

The wing is swept back at 30 degrees and, along with other design features, allows a maximum operatingMach numberof 0.86.To reach a long span and highaspect ratiowithout a large weight penalty, the wing has relatively highthickness-to-chord ratioof 11.8%or 12.8%.Jet airliners have Thickness-to-chord ratios ranging from 9.4% (MD-11orBoeing 747) to 13% (Avro RJor737 Classic).Each wing also has a 2.74 m (9 ft 0 in) tallwingletinstead of the wingtip fences found on earlier Airbus aircraft.

The shared wing design with the A340 allowed the A330 to incorporate aerodynamic features developed for the former aircraft.The failure ofInternational Aero Engines' radicalultra-high-bypassV2500 "SuperFan", which had promised around 15 per centfuel burn reductionfor the A340, led to multiple enhancements including wing upgrades to compensate.Originally designed with a 56 m (180 ft)span,the wing was later extended to 58.6 m (190 ft) and finally to 60.3 m (200 ft).At 60.3 m (200 ft), the wingspan is similar to that of the largerBoeing 747-200,but with 35 percent less wing area.

The A330 and A340 fuselage is based on that of theAirbus A300-600, with many common parts, and has the same external and cabin width: 5.64 m (19 ft) and 5.26 m (17 ft).Typical seating arrangements are 2–2–2 six-abreast inbusiness classand 2–4–2 eight-abreast ineconomy class.The fin, rudder, elevators, horizontal tail plane (used as fuel tank), flaps, ailerons, and spoilers are made ofcomposite materials,making 10% of the structure weight.When necessary, the A330 uses the Honeywell 331–350Cauxiliary power unit(APU) to provide pneumatics and electrical power.

The A330 shares the same glass cockpit flight deck layout as the A320 and the A340, featuring electronic instrument displays rather than mechanical gauges.Instead of a conventionalcontrol yoke,the flight deck featuresside-stickcontrols, six main displays, and theElectronic Flight Instrument System(EFIS), which covers navigation and flight displays, as well as theElectronic Centralised Aircraft Monitor(ECAM).Apart from the flight deck, the A330 also has the fly-by-wire system common to the A320 family, the A340, theA350,and theA380.It also features three primary and two secondaryflight control systems,as well as aflight envelopelimit protection system which prevents maneuvers from exceeding the aircraft's aerodynamic and structural limits.

Operational history

Airbus intended the A330 to compete in theExtended-range Twin-engine Operation Performance Standards(ETOPS) market, specifically with the Boeing 767.(ETOPS is a standard that allows longer range flights away from a diversion airport for aircraft that have met special design and testing standards.) Instead of the "ETOPS out of the box" or "Early ETOPS" approach taken by Boeing with its 777,Airbus gradually increased ETOPS approval on the A330 using in-service experience. Airbus suggested that the A340 and the A330 were essentially identical except for their engine number, and that the A340's experience could be applied to the A330's ETOPS approval.The plans were for all three engine types to enter service with 90-minute approval, before increasing to 120 minutes after the total A330 fleet accumulated 25,000 flight hours, and then to 180 minutes after 50,000 flight hours, in 1995.Aer Lingusand Cathay Pacific were two important airlines assisting Airbus in this endeavour by building up in-service flight hours on over-ocean flights.In November 2009, the A330 became the first aircraft to receive ETOPS–240 approval, which has since been offered by Airbus as an option.

As of March 2024,the global A330 fleet of 1,482 aircraft had 12 years average aircraft age (≈2.5 years for A330neo), opened more than 300 new city pairs since the launch of theBoeing 787in 2011, and accumulated more than 65 million flight hours since its entry into service with 99.5% operational reliability.

Variants

With the launch of Airbus A330neo, the existing members of the Airbus A330 family (A330-200, 200F, 300, and MRTT) received the Airbus A330ceo ( "current engine option" ) name.

A330ceo

A330-200

The -200 is 4.85 m (15.9 ft) shorter than the -300.

The A330-200 is a shortened, longer-range variant, which entered service in 1998 withKorean Air.The typical range with 253 passengers in a three-class configuration is 13,400 km (7,240 nmi; 8,330 mi).The A330-200 is ten fuselage frames shorter than the original −300, with a length of 58.82 m (193 ft 0 in).To compensate for the smallermoment armof the shorter fuselage, the vertical stabiliser height of the -200 was increased by 104 cm (40.9 in).The −200's wing was also modified; structural strengthening of the wing allowed the maximum takeoff weight of the −200 to be increased to 229.8 tonnes (507,000 lb).The −200 is offered with three engine types similar to those found on the −300, namely theGeneral Electric CF6-80E,Pratt & Whitney PW4000,orRolls-Royce Trent 700.Airbus also boosted fuel capacity to 139,090 L (36,740US gal;30,600imp gal) by adding the centre section fuel tank, standard in the A340.

A new vertical stabiliser was introduced in 2004 beginning with MSN 555. This newer fin is shorter in height by 50 cm (20 in)and was derived from the design of the vertical stabiliser of the A340-500 and -600, later becoming standard on all new A330-200s.

In 2008, Airbus released plans for a highergross weightversion of the A330-200 to more effectively compete against the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.The new-build A330-200HGW had a 5 tonne increase inMaximum Takeoff Weight,allowing a 560 kilometres (302 nmi; 348 mi) range increase and a 3.4 tonnes (7,500 lb) payload increase.Korean Airbecame the first customer on 27 February 2009 with an order for six −200HGWs. Deliveries of the first aircraft started in 2010.

In mid-2012, Airbus proposed another version of the −200 with the maximum gross weight increased by 2 t (4,400 lb) to 240 t (530,000 lb). This version had its range extended by 270 nmi (500 km; 310 mi) and carried 2.5 t (5,500 lb) more payload. It saw engine and aerodynamic improvements reducing its fuel burn by about 2%. In November 2012, it was announced that the gross weight was to be further increased to 242 t (534,000 lb) with the range extended by 350 nmi (650 km; 400 mi) over the 238 t (525,000 lb) version.It was certified by the EASA on 8 September 2015.

The A330−200 competes with the Boeing767-400ERand the new787-8.In 1998, a newly delivered -200 was valued $94 million, rose over $100 million in 2005 but lowered at almost $75 million in 2019 as the market favours the -300 and the A330neo.The 2018 list price was US$238.5 million.As of April 2024,661 of the −200 had been ordered, 656 of which had been delivered, with 572 aircraft in operation.

A330-200F

The bulge under the A330-200F nose corrects the inherent nose-down attitude of passenger versions.

The A330-200F is an all-cargo derivative of the A330-200 capable of carrying 65 t (140,000 lb) over 7,400 km (4,000 nmi; 4,600 mi) or 70 t (150,000 lb) up to 5,900 km (3,200 nmi; 3,700 mi).To overcome the standard A330's nose-down body angle on the ground, the A330F uses a revised nose undercarriage layout to provide a level deck during cargo loading. The normal A330-200 undercarriage is used, but its attachment points are lower in the fuselage, thus requiring a distinctive blister fairing on the nose to accommodate the retracted nose gear.Power is provided by two Pratt & Whitney PW4000 or Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines. General Electric does not offer an engine for the A330-200F.

As of December 2020,Airbus had delivered 38 aircraft with no outstanding orders.The list price is $241.7 million.As well as new-build freighters, Airbus has proposed passenger-to-freighter conversions of existing −200 airliners.The A330-200F is sized between the767-300Fand777F,but trails both Boeing models in orders and deliveries.

A330-300

The initial variant, a 63.7 m (209 ft) long A330-300 ofAir China

Powered by twoGeneral Electric CF6-80E1,Pratt & Whitney PW4000,orRolls-Royce Trent 700engines, the 63.69 m (208 ft 11 in) long −300 has a range of 11,750 km (6,340 nmi; 7,300 mi), typically carries 277 passengers with a 440 exit limit and 32LD3containers.It received European and American certification on 21 October 1993 after 420 test flights over 1,100 hours.The −300 entered service on 16 January 1994.The A330-300 is based on a stretched A300 fuselage but with new wings, stabilisers and fly-by-wire systems.

In 2010, Airbus offered a new version of the −300 with the maximum gross weight increased by two tonnes to 235 t. This enabled 120 nmi (220 km; 140 mi) extension of the range as well as 1.2 t increase in payload.In mid-2012, Airbus proposed another increase of the maximum gross weight to 240 t. It is planned to be implemented by mid-2015. This −300 version will have the range extended by 400 nmi (740 km; 460 mi) and will carry 5 t more payload. It will include engine and aerodynamic improvements reducing its fuel burn by about 2%.In November 2012, it was further announced that the gross weight will increase from 235 t to 242 t, and the range will increase by 500 nmi (926 km; 575 mi) to 6,100 nmi (11,300 km; 7,020 mi). Airbus is also planning to activate the central fuel tank for the first time for the −300 model.

As of December 2020, a total of 779 of the -300 had been ordered, 771 of which had been delivered, with 742 in operation.The 2015 list price is $264 million.The closest competitors have been theBoeing 777-200/200ER,787-9,and the now out-of-productionMcDonnell Douglas MD-11.

A330-300HGW

The first 242 t (534,000 lb) A330-300 was delivered toDelta Air Linesin May 2015.

In 2000, it was reported that Airbus was studying an A330-300 version with a higher gross weight. It was named A330-300HGW and had a takeoff weight of 240 tonnes (530,000 lb), 7 tonnes (15,000 lb) greater than the -300's weight at the time. The version would have a strengthened wing and additional fuel capacity from a 41,600-litre (11,000 US gal) centre section fuel tank. The A330-300HGW's range was increased to over 11,000 km (5,940 nmi; 6,840 mi). Among those that showed interest was leasing company ILFC, which sought airliners that could fly from the US West Coast to Europe.

Power was to be supplied by all three engines offered to A330-200 and A330-300 with lower gross weight. Airbus also considered using the newEngine Alliance GP7000engine for the A330-300HGW, which would have been the engine's first twinjet application. The −300HGW was to enter airline service in 2004.However, the -300HGW programme was not launched and quietly disappeared.

The 240-tonne A330 reappeared years later when Airbus announced at the 2012Farnborough Airshowthat it would be an available option for both the A330-300 and the A330-200.In November 2012, the maximum take off weight was further increased to 242 tonnes.The first of these aircraft was delivered toDelta Air Lineson 28 May 2015.

A330 Regional

In September 2013, Airbus announced a version of the A330-300, namedA330 RegionalorA330-300 Regional.The A330 Regional has seating for up to around 400 passengers, with reduced engine thrust, reduced maximum takeoff weight of 199 t (439,000 lb), and reduced range of 2,700 nautical miles (5,000 km; 3,110 mi). It is said that the maximum takeoff weight of these aircraft is an "easy upgrade to 242 t (534,000 lb)", which is the extended range version with range of 6,350 nmi (11,800 km; 7,310 mi).It is said to provide up to 26% lower operating costs than the longer range version A330-300.

On 18 August 2016, Airbus delivered the first A330 Regional toSaudia.

A330P2F

The first A330-200P2F was delivered toEgyptAir Cargoon 3 August 2018, with no bulge.

The A330P2Ffreighterconversion programme was launched at the 2012Singapore Airshowwith the support ofAirbus,theirDresden-basedElbe Flugzeugwerke(EFW) joint venture and Singapore-based engineering firmST Aerospace.Targeting a 2016 introduction, Airbus then estimated a market requirement for 2,700 freighters over 20 years, half of these mid-sized, including 900 conversions.

The A330-300P2F, adapted forexpress deliveryande-commercelower densities, can carry up to 62 t (137,000 lb) over 3,650 nmi (6,760 km; 4,200 mi). Following flight tests in October 2017 and EASAsupplemental type certificateawarded in November, the first was delivered toDHLon 1 December.

The A330-200P2F can carry 61 t (134,000 lb) over 4,250 nmi (7,870 km; 4,890 mi).Following June Flight tests and the STC in July, the first was delivered toEgyptAir Cargoon 3 August 2018.

The P2F version of the A330 retains the passenger aircraft's geometry and incorporates a powered cargo loading system to enable pallets to be moved "uphill" on the main cargo deck, and therefore does not have the distinctive nose blister, or "bulge", of the factory delivered A330-200F.

On 3 March 2022,Air Transport Services Group(ATSG), an air freighter lessor, committed to acquiring 29 Airbus A330-300 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) conversion slots fromEFWwith deliveries in the 2023 to 2027 timeframe. The aircraft will be converted mainly at EFW's facility in Dresden, Germany, and at a new conversion site in Shanghai, China.

A330neo

Main article:Airbus A330neo

AnIberoJetA330-900neotaking off fromMadrid-Barajas Airport

A330-800

TheAirbus A330-800is based on the A330-200, with, cabin modifications, largerTrent 7000engines and aerodynamic improvements.The A330-800s maiden flight took place on 6 November 2018.The first two A330-800s were delivered to their launch customerKuwait Airwaysin October 2020.

A330-900

TheAirbus A330-900maintains the A330-300's fuselage dimensions with 10 more seats thanks to cabin optimisation.With modernTrent 7000engines and redesignedwinglets,it should burn 14% less fuel per seat than the A330-300 over a distance of 4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi).It should travel 6,550 nmi (12,130 km; 7,540 mi) with 287 passengers in a standard configuration.The A330-900 made itsmaiden flighton 19 October 2017 and received itsEASAtype certificate on 26 September 2018; it entered service with its launch customer,TAP Air Portugal,on 15 December 2018.

BelugaXL (large cargo freighter)

Main article:Airbus BelugaXL

BelugaXLA330-743L during its maiden flight

Airbus started design of a replacement aircraft for theBelugain November 2014. TheBelugaXLA330-743L is based on the Airbus A330, and has 30% more space than its predecessor.Like the Beluga, the BelugaXL features an extension on its fuselage top, but can accommodate two A350 wings instead of one. The new aircraft rolled out of the assembly line on 4 January 2018, making its maiden flight on 19 July 2018. It began ferrying cargo between different Airbus factories in January 2020.

Corporate jet variants

ACJ330

The A330-200 is available as an ultra-long-rangeAirbus Corporate Jetknown as the A330-200 Prestige,with a range of 15,400 km (8,300 nmi; 9,600 mi) and a capacity of 50 passengers.

ACJ330neo

A corporate jet version of the new A330neo capable of flying 25 passengers 19,260 km (10,400 nmi; 11,970 mi) or 21 hours, enough to fly non-stop fromEuropetoAustralia.

Military variants

Airbus A330 MRTT

Airbus A330 MRTT/KC-30 of theRAAFwith refuelling drogues deployed

TheAirbus A330 MRTTis the Multi-Role Transport and Tanker (MRTT) version of the A330-200, designed foraerial refuellingandstrategic transport.As of November 2020,approximately 60 orders had been placed for the A330 MRTT by air forces of thirteen countries.

EADS/Northrop Grumman KC-45

TheEADS/Northrop Grumman KC-45was a proposed version of the A330 MRTT for the United States Air Force (USAF)'sKC-Xaerial refuelling programme. In February 2008, the USAF selected the aircraft to replace theBoeing KC-135 Stratotanker.The replacement process was mired in controversy, instances of corruption, and allegations of favouritism.In July 2010, EADS submitted a tanker bid to the USAF withoutNorthrop Grummanas a partner.However, on 24 February 2011, the USAF picked theBoeing KC-767proposal, later namedKC-46,as the winner because of its lower cost.

Operators

Main article:List of Airbus A330 operators

As of June 2024,a total of 1,467 A330 family aircraft, comprising 566 A330-200s, 38 -200Fs, 729 -300s, 7 -800s and 127 -900s, are in airline service with 148 operators. The five largest operators wereDelta Air Lines(69),Turkish Airlines(60),China Eastern Airlines(56),Air China(49) andCathay Pacific(41).

By 2012, the 830 A330s in service with over 90 operators had accumulated five million revenue flights and 20 million flight hours, with a dispatch reliability above 99%.In November 2017, 1,190 were transporting passengers with 106 airlines (the top 29 operated two-thirds of the fleet), consisting of 530 -200s and 660 A330-300s, mainly high-gross-weight, with 36 original shorter-range A330-300s, half of them built since January 2010. Its average sector is 2,000 nmi (3,700 km; 2,300 mi); thelongest flightfor the -200 was 6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi), fromBuenos Airesto Rome, byAerolíneas Argentinas,and 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi), from Paris to Reunion, byCorsairandFrench Bluefor the -300. Of operators of at least five A330s, 17 have orderedA350-900s,11 have ordered787-8/9s, 13 both, 3 have orderedA330neosand 2 both A330neos and A350s; 14 haven't yet decided on a replacement.By August 2019, the A330 was operated between over 400 airports in the world, by more than 120 operators, while its average dispatch reliability was over 99% and annual utilization up to 6,000 flight hours.The 1,500th airplane, an A330-900 (A330neo), was delivered to Delta Air Lines on 21 September 2020.In June 2023, the A330 became the second most delivered wide-body airliner after theBoeing 777.In May 2024, the A330 became the second wide-body airliner after the Boeing 777 to reach 1,600 deliveries.

Orders and deliveries

Main article:List of Airbus A330 orders and deliveries

As of June 2024,A330 family aircraft orders stood at 1,798, of which 1,605 had been delivered, excluding 2 A330-900 delivered to Air Belgium via Airbus Financial Services

	Orders		Deliveries
Type	Total	Backlog	Total	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010
A330-200	665	9	656	-	3	5	3	5	7	14	16	21	30	28	43	37	40	32
A330-200F	38	0	38	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	3	3	5	8	8	4	5
A330-300	776	0	776	-	-	4	1	1	5	32	49	42	70	75	57	56	43	50
-- A330ceo --	1,479	9	1,470	0	3	9	4	6	12	46	67	66	103	108	108	101	87	87
A330-800	12	5	7	-	-	3	1	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
A330-900	307	180	127	13	29	20	11	10	41	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
-- A330neo --	319	185	134	13	29	23	12	13	41	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
(A330 family)	(1,798)	(194)	(1,604)	(13)	(32)	(32)	(16)	(19)	(53)	(49)	(67)	(66)	(103)	(108)	(108)	(101)	(87)	(87)

	Deliveries
	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000	1999	1998	1997	1996	1995	1994	1993
A330-200	38	49	42	39	29	25	19	36	16	27	40	12	-	-	-	-	-
A330-200F	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
A330-300	38	23	26	23	27	22	12	6	19	16	4	11	14	10	30	9	1
-- A330ceo --	76	72	68	62	56	47	31	42	35	43	44	23	14	10	30	9	1
-- A330neo --	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
(A330 family)	(76)	(72)	(68)	(62)	(56)	(47)	(31)	(42)	(35)	(43)	(44)	(23)	(14)	(10)	(30)	(9)	(1)

Data as of 30 June 2024

Accidents and incidents

For a more comprehensive list, seeList of accidents and incidents involving the Airbus A330.

As of June 2024,the Airbus A330 has been involved in 46aviation accidents and incidents,including 14hull-losses(10 due to flight related accidents and 4 due to criminal related accidents), for a total of 339 fatalities.

Accidents

The A330's first fatal accident occurred on 30 June 1994 near Toulouseon a test flightwhen an Airbus-owned A330-300 crashed while simulating an engine failure on climbout, killing all seven on board.Airbus subsequently advised A330 operators to disconnect the autopilot and limit pitch attitude in the event of an engine failure at low speed.

Thevertical stabilizerrecovered fromAir France Flight 447

The second fatal and deadliest accident, and first while in commercial service, occurred on 1 June 2009 whenAir France Flight 447,an A330-200 registered as F-GZCP, en route fromRio de Janeiroto Paris with 228 people on board, crashed in the Atlantic Ocean 640–800 km (350–430 nmi; 400–500 mi) northeast of the islands ofFernando de Noronha,with no survivors. Malfunctioningpitot tubesprovided an early focus for the investigation,as the aircraft involved hadThales-built "–AA" models known to indicate faulty airspeed data during icing conditions.In July 2009, Airbus advised A330 and A340 operators to replace Thales pitots with equivalents manufactured byGoodrich.Investigators later determined that the inadequate response of the pilots to both a loss of airspeed data from malfunctioning pitot tubes and subsequent autopilot disengagement followed by incorrect reaction by the pilot flying resulted in Flight 447 entering into anaerodynamic stall.

On 12 May 2010,Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771,an A330-200 registered as 5A-ONG, crashed on approach toTripoli International Airport,Libya, on a flight fromO. R. Tambo International Airport,Johannesburg, South Africa. Of the 104 people on board, all but one nine-year-old Dutch child died.The cause of the crash was determined to be pilot error.

On 23 October 2022,Korean Air Flight 631,an Airbus A330-300 registered as HL7525, operating from Seoul to Cebu, crash landed and overshot the runway while landing in poor weather at night.

Incidents

Engine related

Several in-flight shutdowns of Trent 700–powered A330-300s have occurred. On 11 November 1996, engine failure on a Cathay Pacific flight forced it back toHo Chi Minh City.On 17 April 1997,Dragonairexperienced an engine shutdown on an A330, caused by carbon clogging theoil filter.As a result, Cathay Pacific self-suspended its 120-minute ETOPS clearance. Another engine failure occurred on 6 May duringclimboutwith a Cathay Pacific A330, due to a bearing failure in aHispano-Suiza-builtgearbox.Three days later, a Cathay Pacific A330 on climbout during a Bangkok–Hong Kong flight experienced an oil pressure drop and a resultantengine spool down,forcing a return to Bangkok. The cause was traced to metal contamination in the engine'smaster chip.Following a fifth engine failure on 23 May, Cathay Pacific and Dragonair voluntarily grounded their A330 fleets for two weeks, causing major disruption as Cathay's eleven A330s made up fifteen per cent of its passenger capacity.Rolls-Royce and Hispano-Suiza developed a redesigned lubrication system to fix the problem.

Other engines have issues too: on 14 July 2015, anAsianaPW4000 was shut down in flight,on 15 January 2017, anAir EuropaCF6 was shut down in flight,on 28 December 2017, anAer LingusCF6 was shut down in flight,on 18 January 2018, aMalaysia AirlinesPW4000 was shut down in flight,on 13 February 2018, aDelta Air LinesPW4000 caught fire,on April 18, 2018,anotherDelta Air Lines PW4000 caught fire,on 29 May 2018, a Delta Air Lines PW4000 had engine vibrations,on 1 June 2018, aQantasCF6 was shut down in flight,on 1 October 2018, aChina AirlinesCF6 had an engine problem,and on 5 November 2018, aBrussels AirlinesPW4000 was shut down in flight.

Flight data related

In 2008,Air Caraïbesreported two incidents ofpitot tubeicing malfunctions on its A330s.

On 7 October 2008,Qantas Flight 72,an A330-300, suffered a rapid loss of altitude in two sudden uncommanded pitch-down manoeuvres while 150 km (81 nmi; 93 mi) from theRAAF Learmonthair base in northwestern Australia. After declaring an emergency, the crew landed the aircraft safely at Learmonth.It was later determined that the incident, which caused 106 injuries, 14 of them serious, was the result of a design flaw of the plane'sAir Data Inertial Reference Unitand a limitation of the aircraft's flight computer software.

Fuel system related

On 24 August 2001,Air Transat Flight 236,an A330-200, developed a fuel leak over the Atlantic Ocean due to an incorrectly installed hydraulic part and was forced to glide for over 15 minutes to an emergency landing in theAzores.

On 13 April 2010,Cathay Pacific Flight 780,an A330-300, fromSurabayaJuanda International Airportto Hong Kong landed safely after contaminated fuel caused both engines to fail. Fifty-seven passengers were injured. Its two pilots received thePolaris Awardfrom the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations for their heroism and airmanship.

Chemical and fire related

On 15 March 2000, a Malaysia Airlines A330-300 suffered structural damage due to leakingoxalyl chloride,a corrosive chemical substance that had been improperly labeled before shipping. The aircraft was written off.

On 27 August 2019, anAir ChinaA330-300 atBeijing Capital International Airportcaught fire while at the gate. The passengers and crew were safely evacuated. The airplane was likely damaged beyond repair.

Hijackings and war related

The two hijackings involving the A330 have resulted in one fatality,namely the hijacker ofPhilippine Airlines Flight 812on 25 May 2000, who jumped out of the aircraft to his death.The hijacking ofSabena Flight 689on 13 October 2000 ended with no casualties when Spanish police took control of the aircraft.On 24 July 2001, two unoccupiedSriLankan AirlinesA330s were destroyed amid anattack on Bandaranaike International Airport,in Colombo, Sri Lanka, by theLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.On 25 December 2009, passengers and crew subdued a man who attempted to detonate explosives in his underwear on an A330-300 operatingNorthwest Airlines Flight 253.

On 15 July 2014, a Libyan Airlines A330 was severely damaged in the fighting in Libya and sustained bullet holes in the fuselage. On 20 July 2014, two Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A330s were hit by an RPG at Tripoli International Airport. One was completely destroyed in the ensuing fire.

On 15 April 2023, aSaudiaA330 registered HZ-AQ30 was destroyed in Sudan bombings during an ongoing military coup.

Aircraft on display

• A formerTurkish AirlinesA330-300 is preserved atAircraft Museum KathmanduinKathmandu,Nepal.This aircraft was only eight months old when it was written off in a runway excursion atTribhuvan International Airport.The museum is inside the aircraft, with more than 200 miniature planes inside and aviation artifacts.
• Former Thai Airways A330-300 HS-TEF has been preserved since 2017 as the Airways Land Café at Sida,Nakhon Ratchasima,Thailand.
• Air Diamond Cafe inChiang Mai,Thailand uses the formerThai AirwaysA330-300 HS-TEGat its main premises.
• Former Thai Airways A330-300 HS-TEM has been preserved as "Coffee War" cafe inChonburisince 2020.

Specifications

Airbus A330 specificationsunless noted

	A330-200	A330-200F	A330-300
Cockpit crew	Two
Capacity	246 (36J @ 60 in + 210Y @ 32 in)	70,000 kg (150,000 lb)	300 (36J @ 60 in + 264Y @ 32 in)
Max seating	406	–	440
Length	58.82 m (192.98 ft)		63.66 m (208.86 ft)
Span	Wing: 60.3 m (197.83 ft), Main gear: 12.61 m (41.37 ft)
Wing	361.6 m2(3,892 sq ft), 25% chord wingsweep: 30°,10.06 Aspect ratio
Height	17.39 m (57.1 ft)	16.90 m (55.4 ft)	16.79 m (55.1 ft)
Fuselage	5.64 m (222 in) diameter, 5.26 m (207 in) cabin width
Seat width	0.46 m (18 in) in 8 abreast economy, 0.53 m (21 in) in 6 abreast business
Cargo volume	132.4 m3(4,680 cu ft)	469.2 m3(16,570 cu ft)	158.4 m3(5,590 cu ft)
MTOW	242,000 kg (534,000 lb)	233,000 kg (514,000 lb)	242,000 kg (534,000 lb)
OEW	120,600 kg (265,900 lb)	109,400 kg (241,200 lb)	129,400 kg (285,300 lb)
Max Payload	49,400 kg (108,900 lb)	68,600 kg (151,200 lb)	45,600 kg (100,500 lb)
Fuel capacity	139,090 L (36,740 US gal; 30,600 imp gal) – 109,185 kg (240,712 lb)
Engines (×2)	GE CF6(except -200F) /PW4000/Trent 700
Thrust (×2)	64,500–71,100 lbf (287–316 kN)
Cruise	Mach 0.82 (470 kn; 871 km/h; 541 mph),at 12,500 m (41,100 ft)service ceiling
Range	13,450 km (7,260 nmi; 8,360 mi)	7,400 km (4,000 nmi; 4,600 mi)	11,750 km (6,340 nmi; 7,300 mi)
Runway	Takeoff: 2,770 m (9,090 ft), Landing: 1,730 m (5,680 ft)

Aircraft model designations

A330 family schematic

EASA Type Certificate Data Sheet

Model	Certification Date	Engines
A330-201	31 October 2002	General Electric CF6-80E1A2
A330-202	31 March 1998	General Electric CF6-80E1A4
A330-203	20 November 2001	General Electric CF6-80E1A3
A330-223	13 July 1998	Pratt & Whitney PW4168A/4170
A330-223F	9 April 2010	Pratt & Whitney PW4170 (Freighter)
A330-243	11 January 1999	Rolls-Royce Trent 772B/C-60
A330-243F	9 April 2010	Rolls-Royce Trent 772B-60 (Freighter)
A330-301	21 October 1993	General Electric CF6-80E1A2
A330-302	17 May 2004	General Electric CF6-80E1A4
A330-303	17 May 2004	General Electric CF6-80E1A3
A330-321	2 June 1994	Pratt & Whitney PW4164
A330-322	2 June 1994	Pratt & Whitney PW4168
A330-323	22 April 1999	Pratt & Whitney PW4168A/4170
A330-341	22 December 1994	Rolls-Royce Trent 768-60
A330-342	22 December 1994	Rolls-Royce Trent 772-60
A330-343	13 September 1999	Rolls-Royce Trent 772B/C-60

ICAO Aircraft Type Designators

Designation	Type
A332	Airbus A330-200, Airbus A330-200F
A333	Airbus A330-300
A337	Airbus A330-700 Beluga XL

See also

• Competition between Airbus and Boeing

Related development

• Airbus A300
• Airbus A330 MRTT
• Airbus CC-330 Husky
• Airbus A330neo
• Airbus A340
• Airbus Beluga XL

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Airbus A350
• Boeing 767
• Boeing 777-200
• Boeing 787 Dreamliner
• Ilyushin Il-96
• McDonnell Douglas MD-11

Related lists

• List of civil aircraft
• List of jet airliners

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

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• Fullbrook, David (31 July – 6 August 2001)."SriLankan turns to Emirates for help after raid".Flight International.Vol. 160, no. 4791. p. 10.ISSN0161-7370.Retrieved7 October2013.
• Gunston, Bill(2009).Airbus: The Complete Story.Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset, UK: Haynes Publishing.ISBN978-1-84425-585-6.
• Henley, Peter (25 February – 3 March 1998)."One of the family".Flight International.Vol. 153, no. 4614. pp. 36–40.ISSN0161-7370.Retrieved25 January2011.
• Kingsley-Jones, Max; Lewis, Peter (17–23 April 2001)."Airline rejections threaten A330-500 launch".Flight International.Vol. 158, no. 4759. p. 6.ISSN0161-7370.Retrieved31 January2011.
• Kingsley-Jones, Max (4–10 September 2001)."Size or speed".Flight International.Vol. 160, no. 4796. p. 51.ISSN0161-7370.Retrieved7 October2013.
• Lawrence, Phillip K.; Thornton, David Weldon (2005).Deep Stall: The Turbulent Story of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.London: Ashgate Publishing.ISBN978-0-7546-4626-6.
• Lewis, Paul (20–26 November 1996)."In-flight Trent 700 failure forces Cathay A330 back to Saigon".Flight International.Vol. 150, no. 4550. p. 9.ISSN0161-7370.Retrieved7 October2013.
• Norris, Guy; Wagner, Mark (2001).Airbus A340 and A330.St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing, 2001.ISBN978-0-7603-0889-9.
• Wensveen, J.G. (1 January 2007).Air Transportation: A Management Perspective.Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate Publishing, 2007.ISBN978-0-7546-7171-8.

Further reading

• Jackson, Paul, ed. (2008).Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2008–2009.Coulsdon, Surrey, UK: Jane's Information Group, 2008.ISBN978-0-7106-2837-4.
• Miravete, Antonio, ed. (1999).3-D Textile Reinforcements in Composite Materials.Sawston, Cambridge, UK: Woodland Publishing.ISBN978-0-8493-1795-8.
• Recent developments with Airbus: ninth report of session 2006–07, Vol. 2: Oral and written evidence.London, UK: The Stationery Office (Parliament: House of Commons: Trade and Industry Committee), 2007. 25 July 2007.ISBN978-0-215-03551-6.
• Reed, Arthur (1991).Airbus: Europe's High Flyer.Zürich, Switzerland: Norden Publishing House, 1992.ISBN978-3-907150-10-8.

External links

• Official website
• "A330 Family overview: Aircraft design, Systems, Cabin, Freighter, Maintenance, Upgrades & retrofits".FAST — Flight Airworthiness Support Technology — technical magazine.Airbus. October 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 23 October 2017.