Airbus A330neo

Studies concept, based on the A330ceo, before its redesign into the all-new A350XWB, was similar to what became the A330neo. At the Boeing 787 launch in 2004, Airbus' initial response was an improved A330. After negative feedback from airlines and lessors, the A350 XWB became a new design in 2006. After the A320neo launch in December 2010 and its commercial success, the largest airline of Malaysia, AirAsia – an all-Airbus operator – asked Airbus to re-engine the A330. By April 2017, the Trent 7000s were to be installed later during the summer so that the first flight was delayed until September. The engines were shipped to Airbus in June. The aircraft complete with engines showed at Toulouse in September before its first flight. Major structures of the first A330-800 were entering production in October 2017: high-lift devices are installed on the wing in Bremen, fuselage sections are built in Hamburg, the centre wing-box in Nantes, titanium engine pylons in Toulouse and sharklet wingtips in Korea. Its final assembly started in November 2017, on track for its planned first flight in mid-2018. Structural assembly was completed by February 2018, having its flight-test instruments installed and waiting for its engines before its 300h flight-test programme. The heavier structure allows a transpacific range and is balanced by a weight-reduction effort, keeping the same empty weight and payload. On 8 October 2020, the 251 t A330-900 was EASA-certified, before introduction by Corsair International. Retaining 99% spares commonality, it offers more payload while strengthening the landing-gear and extending the time before overhaul interval from 10 to 12 years. On 31 March 2021, Corsair took delivery of the first 251t Airbus A330-900 in a three-class, 352-seat configuration. The 251 t A330-800 was certified by EASA in April 2022. On 11 June 2025, Airbus planned for 2028 a variant, while a 68,000 lbf (320 kN) thrust rating should be available from 2026. Further certification for international markets The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) granted the A330neo family its Validation of Type Certificate (VTC) in December 2024. Hainan Airlines hinted towards ordering 20 A330-900s with an order for galley parts from Safran in March 2024, while Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific placed a firm order for 30 A330-900s later that August. ==Design==

The A330neo is advertised as having a 12% fuel burn advantage per flight over the older A330 variants. This advantage comes from the 11% gain from the Trent 7000 and its larger 112-inch fan, compared to the 97.5-inch Trent 700 engine. However, this gain is negated by 3%–2% by additional weight, and 1% due to engine drag, but the sharklets and aero optimization regain 4%, restoring the advantage to 12%. Furthermore, fuel consumption per seat is improved by 2% due to the rearranged cabin (Space-Flex and Smart-Lav) with increased seating, offering a 14% fuel burn reduction per seat for the new −900 compared to the previous 235-tonne −300 version. Initially based on the largest 242t MTOW A330, Airbus was studying an improvement to MTOW for the A330neo, which would match the figure originally given for the Airbus A350-800 before it was sidelined in favor of the A330neo. On the -800 at FL400, cruise fuel flow at Mach 0.82 and low weight is per hour at a higher weight and Mach 0.83. Cabin and Cockpit 's A330-900neo cabin.|thumb|Cebu Pacific operates the densest A330-900 seating configuration, with 459 economy-only seats. The redesigned interior, dubbed "Airspace" by Airbus and unveiled in 2016, received larger overhead bins, new ceiling panels with customisable patterns, and updated lighting. Many design elements were incorporated from the A350. A further interior update was revealed in September 2024 with availability in 2027-2028; this update features new lighting, new interior sidewalls with more shoulder clearance and more foot space at window seats, new ceiling panels, a lighter and simpler door-frame lining, electro-dimmable windows between Doors-1 and Doors-2, and an approximately reduction in weight. The cockpit windows feature a black "mask" outline, similar to the A350. Engines Candidate engines included variants of Rolls-Royce's Trent 1000 and General Electric's GEnx-1B. Both engine makers were reportedly interested in winning an exclusive deal should a re-engined A330 be offered. The Trent 1000 TEN (Thrust, Efficiency, New Technology) engine was under development for the 787-10, but Rolls-Royce intended to offer a broad power range. The A330neo uses the Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engine, which is an electronic controlled bleed air variant of the Trent 1000 used on the Boeing 787-10. It will have a diameter fan and a 10:1 bypass ratio. They deliver a thrust of . The Trent is the exclusive powerplant, as Rolls-Royce offered better terms to obtain exclusivity. Customers bemoan the loss of competition among engine makers: Steven Udvar-Hazy, CEO of Air Lease Corporation, said that he wants a choice of engines, but Airbus has pointed out that equipping a commercial aircraft to handle more than one type of engine adds several hundred million dollars to the development cost. The head of Pratt and Whitney said: "Engines are no longer commodities...the optimization of the engine and the aircraft becomes more relevant." The decision to offer the aircraft with only one engine option is not unique to Airbus; the Boeing 777X will come equipped exclusively with General Electric GE9X engines, after Rolls-Royce made a bid with its Advance configuration but was not selected. ==Variants==

A330-800 on 20 November 2020. The A330-800 retains the fuselage length of the A330-200, but can seat six more passengers (for a total of 252) with an optimised cabin featuring 18-inch-wide economy seats. After the first flight of the -900 on 19 October 2017, Hawaiian Airlines (then the only customer for the -800) considered changing its order to six -800s, seeking best to fit its current network to Asia and North America whilst allowing for future growth, possibly to Europe. Demand for the -800 fell to 3%. In contrast, the -200 commanded 40% of the CEO deliveries: its range advantage has eroded with the increased capabilities of the -900, and although it offers lower fuel use per trip, fuel use per seat is higher. As of 2017, demand for the -800 was limited by low fuel prices and the -200s it might replace after 2020 were still young (nine years on average). The Boeing 767-300s that the -800 might replace are 15 years older, and while Boeing considered relaunching production of the 767-300ER, mainly as an interim for American and United Airlines, this was complicated by a 30-year-old design including obsolete cabin amenities.