News
A330neo nearing its maiden flight
October 6th 2017
Airbus has told Orient Aviation its first A330neo, an A330-900, has been handed over to the flight test team in preparation for a first flight “within the next few weeks”. Read More » The A330neo’s maiden flight was initially expected to take place in late September, but the late arrival of the aircraft’s power plants, Rolls-Royce’s Trent 7000s, caused a delay.
The A330 was originally scheduled to enter service with launch customer, TAP Portugal, at the end of the year, but delivery has been postponed to the first quarter of 2018.
Airbus is working on increasing the -900s range from 6,550nm to 7,000nm to better compete with rival Boeing’s popular B787-9. Among Asia-Pacific airlines, AirAsia X has ordered 66 A330neo and Garuda Indonesia is committed to 14. Iran Air has 28 in its books.
