The Airbus A330 is a wide-body twin-engine jet airliner made by Airbus. Versions of the A330 have a range of 7,400 to 13,430 kilometres (4,000 to 7,250 nmi) and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout or carry 70 tonnes (150,000 lb) of cargo.
The origin of the A330 dates to the 1970s as one of several conceived derivatives of Airbus's first airliner, the A300. The A330 was developed in parallel with the A340, which shared many common airframe components but differed in number of engines. Both airliners incorporated fly-by-wire flight control technology, first introduced on an Airbus aircraft with the A320, as well as the A320's six-display glass cockpit.[1] In June 1987, after receiving orders from various customers, Airbus launched the A330 and A340. The A330 was Airbus's first airliner offered with the choice of three engines: General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce.[2]
The A330-300, the first variant, took its maiden flight in November 1992 and entered passenger service with Air Inter in January 1994.[3] Responding to dwindling sales, Airbus followed up with the slightly shorter A330-200 variant in 1998, which has proved more popular. Subsequently, developed A330 variants include a dedicated freighter, the A330-200F, and a military tanker, the A330 MRTT. The A330 MRTT formed the basis of the proposed KC-45, entered into the U.S. Air Force's KC-X competition in conjunction with Northrop Grumman, where after an initial win, on appeal lost to Boeing's tanker.[4][5]
Since its launch, the A330 has allowed Airbus to expand market share in wide-body airliners. Airlines have selected the A330 as a replacement for less economical trijets and versus rival twinjets. Boeing has offered variants of the 767 and 777 as competitors, along with the 787 which entered service in 2011. Airbus's A350 also shares this wide-body airliner market. As of November 2022, the A330's order book stood at 1,764, of which 1,555 had been delivered and 1,462 were in service.[6] The largest operator is Delta Air Lines with 61 aircraft.[6]
Airline operators
A list of operators of the Airbus A330, as of July 2023.[7]
| Legend | Notes |
|---|---|
| * | Current |
| * | Former |
| Orders |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
Military operators
As of August 2015, seven countries have placed order for a total 41 of Airbus A330 MRTTs, specialised for tanker operations: Australia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, France, Singapore and South Korea.[8]
Government operators
.jpg.webp)
Following countries operate A330-200 for VIP use.
- Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan – 1 in service
- French Air and Space Force – 1 in service
- Government of Turkey – 1 in service
- Government of Thailand – 1 in service
- Government of Malaysia – 1 in service
- Royal Air Force – 1 in service
- Royal Canadian Air Force – 1 in service
- Qatar Amiri Flight – 2 in service
See also
Footnotes
- References
- ↑ Norris & Wagner 2001, p. 27
- ↑ Norris & Wagner 2001, p. 44
- ↑ Norris & Wagner 2001, pp. 84–85
- ↑ Shalal-Esa, Andrea (2 March 2008). "Northrop, EADS tanker win sparks controversy in U.S". Reuters. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
- ↑ Trimble, Stephen (24 February 2011). "UPDATED: USAF selects Boeing for KC-X contract". Flight Global. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
- 1 2 "Airbus orders and deliveries" (Microsoft Excel). Airbus S.A.S. 31 October 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ↑ "Airbus orders and deliveries" (XLS). Airbus S.A.S. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ↑ "Airbus D&S Orders & deliveries pdf" (PDF). Airbus S.A.S. August 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- Bibliography
- Norris, Guy and Mark Wagner (2001). Airbus A340 and A330. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing, 2001. ISBN 0-7603-0889-6.
- Airbus Orders and Deliveries