Airbus commences final assembly of first A330neo

Airbus has commenced final assembly of the very first A330neo, an A330-900.

Both the A330-800 and A330-900 feature a new A350-inspired wing with Sharklet wingtip devices, latest-generation Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, and the new AirSpace by Airbus cabin.

“We have started with a very tight development schedule and are today right on time,” said Odile Jubécourt, Airbus Head of the A330neo program. “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% common, sharing a 95% commonality across the entire A330 fleet.