FARNBOROUGH, England, 9 July 2012. Airbus officials announced plans today to offer an upgraded version of the A330 widebody twin-engine jetliner by increasing the aircraft's maximum takeoff weight to 240 metric tonnes. Airbus first will apply these upgrades to the larger A330-300 model and subsequently to the A330-200 and A330-200F.
Airbus made the announcement today at the Farnborough International Airshow 2012 in Farnborough, England.
The 240 tonne A330-300 will have as much as 400 nautical miles extra range, 5,950 nautical miles. The upgraded aircraft will be able to carry 300 passengers and nearly five tonnes more payload than today’s 235-tonne aircraft.
The upgraded 240 tonne A330-200 will be able to fly as far as 270 nautical miles further, to 7,050 nautical miles, with 246 passengers and carry more than 2.5 tonnes more payload than today’s 238-tonne A330-200, Airbus officials say.
The two models also will have aerodynamic and engine refinements to increase fuel efficiency. The upgraded A330-300 is scheduled to enter service in mid 2015. No announcements were made for the other models.
The upgraded A330-300 will be able to connect London and Tokyo; Frankfurt and Cape Town; Beijing and Melbourne; Beijing and San Francisco; Kuala Lumpur and Paris; and Los Angeles and Dublin non-stop.
This upgraded A330-300 will be able to fly similar ranges while burning 15 percent less fuel than the Boeing 777-200ER on a 1,800 nautical miles mission, Airbus officials claim.
The A330 family of widebody twinjets spans 250 to 300 seats, and includes freighter, VIP, military transport, and military tanker variants. About 1,200 of the aircraft have been ordered, and some 900 are flying with more than 90 operators worldwide, Airbus officials say.
For more information contact Airbus online at www.airbus.com, or the Farnborough International Airshow at www.farnborough.com. Also follow Military & Aerospace Electronics and Avionics Intelligence daily Farnborough show coverage online at www.militaryaerospace.com/farnborough-report.
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