Airbus A330
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| Airbus A330 | |
|---|---|
| Air Canada A330-300. | |
| Type | Airliner |
| Manufacturer | EADS (Airbus S.A.S.) |
| Maiden flight | 1992-11-02 |
| Introduced | January 1994 with Air Inter |
| Status | Active service |
| Primary users | Emirates Airline (29) Cathay Pacific (27) Qatar Airways (23) Northwest Airlines (21) Korean Air (19) Air France (16) Malaysia Airlines (16) |
| Number built | 437 |
| Unit cost | US$139.6 to $145.5 million in 2003 |
| Variants | Airbus A330 MRTT |
The Airbus A330 is a large-capacity, wide-body, medium-to-long-range commercial passenger airliner manufactured by EADS (Airbus S.A.S.). It was developed at the same time as the four-engined A340.
Contents |
[edit] About
Airbus intended the A330 to compete directly in the ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operation Performance Standards) market, specifically with the Boeing 767.
The A330's fuselage and wings are virtually identical to those of the smaller A340 variants, although it has different engines. The A330 basic fuselage design is inherited from the Airbus A300, as is the nose/cockpit section and the fly-by-wire system and flightdeck from the A320.
By the end of October 2006 a total of 595 A330 had been ordered and 437 delivered.
[edit] Variants
There are two variants of the A330. The A330-300 was launched in 1987 with introduction into service in 1993. The A330-200 was launched in 1995 with introduction into service in 1998.
[edit] A330-200
The A330-200 was developed to compete with the Boeing 767-300ER. The A330-200 is similar to the A340-200 or a shortened version of the A330-300. With poor sales of the A340-200 (of which only 28 were built), Airbus decided to use the fuselage of the A340-200 with the wings and engines of the A330-300. This significantly improved the economics of the plane and made the model more popular than the four-engined variant.
Its vertical fin is taller than that of the A330-300 to restore its effectiveness due to the fuselage shrink. It has additional fuel capacity and, like the A330-300, has a MTOW of 233 tonnes. Typical range with 253 passengers in a three-class configuration is 12,500 km (6,750 nautical miles).
Power is provided by two General Electric CF6-80E, Pratt & Whitney PW4000 or Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines. All engines are ETOPS-180 min rated. First customer deliveries, to ILFC/Canada 3000, were in April 1998.
The A330-200 has sold strongly since its launch, outselling the Boeing 767 by 23 to 9 in 2004. As a result, Boeing has asked both Rolls Royce and GE to design engines that enable the 787 Dreamliner to be 15% more economical than the A330-200.
The direct Boeing equivalent was originally the 767-400ER and in the future will be the 787-9. The A330-200 is being replaced in the Airbus lineup by the A350-800 XWB.
A330-200F
Due to flagging A300-600F and A310F sales, Airbus is to begin offering a freighter dervative, dubbed the A330-200F.<ref>"Airbus aims to fill freighter void with A330 derivative." Flight International. March 14, 2006.</ref> The freighter version made its public appearance at the 2006 Farnborough Air Show.
A330 MRTT
The Multi Role Tanker Transport version of the A330-200 provides aerial refueling and strategic transport. In January 2004 the UK Ministry of Defence announced that the A330 MRTT had been selected to provide air-refueling for the RAF for the next 30 years under the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft programme. In this and the Australian contest, announced April 16 2004, the A330 beat competition from the Boeing 767 AAR derivative. The Royal Australian Air Force has placed an order for 5 A330 MRTT aircraft to replace its ageing fleet of 707s.
A derivative of the A330, similar to the MRTT, is also in the running to land a contract from the United States Air Force for perhaps up to 600 tankers to replace the aging KC-135 and KC-10 fleet. EADS is teamed with Northrop Grumman for the bid. If the contract is won, it will require EADS to invest approximately US$600 million in an assembly plant in the United States. Boeing 767 derived tankers (Boeing KC-767) were originally selected by the USAF. However in December 2003 the US Defense Department announced the project was to be frozen while allegations of corruption by one if its former procurement staffers, Darleen Druyun (who had moved to Boeing in January) was investigated. The fallout of this resulted in the resignation of Boeing CEO Philip M. Condit and the termination of CFO Michael M. Sears.
In early 2006 the United States Congress passed a defence bill which reverses an earlier amendment which barred Airbus from bidding for the contract.<ref name="tanker">Limits eased on bidding for Air Force tankers. Seattle Times (2006-01-04). Retrieved on 2006-08-03.</ref>
To support the possible USAF contract, Airbus has announced that it will create an engineering and manufacturing site at Mobile, Alabama.
[edit] A330-300
The A330-300, which entered service in 1993, was developed as replacement for the A300. It is based on a stretched A300-600 fuselage but with new wings, stabilisers and new fly-by-wire software.
The A330-300 carries 295 passengers in a three-class cabin layout (335 in 2 class and 440 in single class) over a range of 10,500 km (5,650 nautical miles). It has a large cargo capacity, comparable to early Boeing 747s. Some airlines run overnight cargo-only flights after daytime passenger services.
It is powered by two General Electric CF6-80E, Pratt & Whitney PW4000 or Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines, all of which are ETOPS-180 min rated. US Airways was the launch customer in the United States with nine A330-300s.
The direct Boeing equivalent is the Boeing 777-200. The A330-300 was to be replaced in the Airbus lineup by the A350-900 XWB, currently predicted to fly in 2013.
[edit] Specifications
| Aircraft dimensions | A330-200 | A330-300 |
|---|---|---|
| Overall length | 58.8 m | 63.6 m |
| Height (to top of horizontal tail) | 17.40 m | 16.85 m |
| Fuselage diameter | 5.64 m | 5.64 m |
| Maximum cabin width | 5.28 m | 5.28 m |
| Cabin length | 45.0 m | 50.35 m |
| Wingspan (geometric) | 60.3 m | 60.3 m |
| Wing area (reference) | 361.6 m² | 361.6 m² |
| Wing sweep (25% chord) | 30 degrees | 30 degrees |
| Wheelbase | 22.2 m | 25.6 m |
| Wheel track | 10.69 m | 10.69 m |
| Basic operating data | ||
| Engines | two CF6-80E1 or PW4000 or RR Trent 700 | two CF6-80E1 or PW4000 or RR Trent 700 |
| Engine thrust range | 303-320 kN | 303-320 kN |
| Typical passenger seating | 253 (3-class) / 293 (2-class) | 295 (3-class) / 335 (2-class) |
| Range (w/max. passengers) | 12,500 km | 10,500 km |
| Max. operating Mach number | 0.86 M | 0.86 M |
| Bulk hold volume (Standard/option) | 19.7 / 13.76 m³ | 19.7 / 13.76 m³ |
| Design weights | ||
| Maximum ramp weight | 230.9 (233.9 ) t | 230.9 (233.9) t |
| Maximum takeoff weight | 230 (233) t | 230 (233) t |
| Maximum landing weight | 180 (182) t | 185 (187) t |
| Maximum zero fuel weight | 168 (170) t | 173 (175) t |
| Maximum fuel capacity | 139,100 l | 97,170 l |
| Typical operating weight empty | 119.6 t | 122.2 (124.5) t |
| Typical volumetric payload | 36.4 t | 45.9 t |
[edit] A330 Deliveries
| 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1993 | 1992 | 1991 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | 56 | 47 | 31 | 42 | 35 | 43 | 44 | 23 | 14 | 10 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
[edit] Incidents
(As of 2005)
- Hull-loss Accidents: 1 with a total of 7 fatalities
- Other occurrences: 4 with a total of 0 fatalities
- On 24 July 2001, 2 SriLankan Airlines A330-243s were destroyed on the ground by Tamil Tiger guerillas at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport, Sri Lanka, along with an Airbus A320-200, an Airbus A340-300 and a squadron of military aircraft. Another two planes, an A320 and an A340 were also damaged but have since been repaired.<ref name="srilanka">ASN Aircraft accident description Airbus A.330-243 4R-ALF - Colombo-Bandaranayake Internation Airport. Retrieved on 2006-08-03.</ref>
- On 24 August 2001, Air Transat, Flight 236, an A330-243, performed the world's longest recorded glide with a jet airliner after suffering fuel exhaustion over the Atlantic Ocean. Human error and lack of automated computer checks stopped the crew from realizing the cause of fuel imbalance was leakage via a broken fuel pipe caused by poor maintenance. The plane flew powerless for half an hour and covered 65 nautical miles (120 km) to an emergency landing in the Azores (Portugal). No one was hurt, but the aircraft suffered some structural damage and blown tires. The airplane, registration C-GITS, is still flown by Air Transat today.
- On 18 July 2003, B-HYA, a Dragonair A330-342 encountered severe turbulence associated with Tropical Depression Koni over the South China Sea, during the flight KA060 from Kota Kinabalu to Hong Kong. 12 crew members and 3 passengers were injured, of which 2 crew members sustained serious injuries, but there were no fatalities. The aircraft landed safely at Hong Kong International Airport.
Accident investigation report of B-HYA accident issued by Civil Aiviation Department, Hong Kong SAR
- Hijackings: 2 with a total of 1 fatality.
[edit] Trivia
- Air Transat places more seats in the A330-200 than they do on their A330-300. 363 seats in -200, 362 in -300
- The A330 is the lightest twinjet in the world for its size and capacity; it will be surpassed by the Boeing 787
[edit] External links
- Details on the Airbus A330/A340 family of aircraft
- Airbus A330 Production List
- Airliners.net A330-200 Photos
- Airliners.net A330-300 Photos
- Cruisinaltitude.com Airbus A330 Photos
- (it) A330 crash in Toulouse, 30 June 1994
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] Related content
Related development<h3>
<h3>Comparable aircraft<h3><h3>Related lists<h3>
<h3>See also<h3>
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