Airbus A330

The Airbus A330 is a medium- to long-range wide-body twin-engine jet airliner made by Airbus, a division of Airbus Group. Versions of the A330 have a range of 2,700-7,250 nautical miles (5,000-13,427 kilometers) and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout or carry 154,000 lbs (69.86 tons) of cargo.

The A330's origin dates to the mid-1970s as one of several conceived derivatives of Airbus's first airliner, the A300. The A330 was developed in parallel with the four-engine 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. In June 1987, after receiving orders from various customers, Airbus launched the A330 and A340. The A330 was Airbus's first airliner that offered a choice of three engines: General Electric CF6, Pratt & Whitney PW4000, and Rolls-Royce Trent 700.

The A330-300, the first variant, took its maiden flight in November 1992 and entered passenger service with Air Inter in January 1994. Airbus followed up with the slightly shorter A330-200 variant in 1998. Subsequently-developed A330 variants include a dedicated freighter, the A330-200F, a military tanker, the Airbus A330 MRTT, and a corporate jet, ACJ330. The A330 MRTT formed the basis of the Northrop Grumman KC-45 Mesotanker.

Since its launch, the A330 has allowed Airbus to expand market share in wide-body airliners. Competing twinjets include the Boeing 767 and 777, along with the 787, which entered service in late 2011. The long-range Airbus A350 was planned to succeed both the A330 and A340. The current A330 (referred to as the A330ceo (current engine option) since 2014) is to be replaced by the A330neo, which includes new engines and other improvements. As of February 2017, A330 orders stand at 1,682, of which 1,330 have been delivered and 1,300 remain in operation. The largest operator is Turkish Airlines with 60 A330s in its fleet.

Related Development

 * Airbus A300
 * Airbus A330neo
 * Airbus A330 MRTT
 * Northrop Grumman KC-45 Mesotanker
 * Airbus A340

Comparable Aircraft

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