Airbus A330-900neo receives EASA Certification
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has just certified the Airbus A330-900 – the largest variant of the A330neo family.
EASA passed on the type certificate to various stages of their team before eventually handing it to Airbus’ head of engineering for commercial aircraft, Jean-Brice Dumont. Airbus expects the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to hand over their certification soon.
President of Airbus Commercial Aircraft, Guillaume Faury noted the significance of this achievement in the following statement:
“The A330neo embodies Airbus’ spirit of innovation. This new generation aircraft with unparalleled efficiency and flexibility from short to long haul routes has tremendous market potential”
He added:
“We look forward to delivering the first aircraft equipped with the beautiful new Airspace cabin to our launch customer TAP Air Portugal in the coming weeks”
Powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, the A330-900 is slated to enter service with TAP Portugal. Airbus and TAP recently performed route proving tests using the first customer test frame, to which media and presentation flights were conducted in key global areas for customer attention.
The three flight test aircraft accumulated over 1400 flight test hours in under a year, completing all necessary certification tests as seen in the following video from Airbus:
The smaller sibling of the A330neo family, the A330-800, has yet to make its first flight, however Airbus has said this can be expected within the next few weeks.
Compared to older generation aircraft of similar size, the A330-900 offers airlines a 25% reduction in fuel consumption. This is due to the use of highly efficient Trent 7000 engines, a new 3D-optimized wing with new sharklets and the use of composite materials.
Airspace by Airbus provides passengers with a cabin that’s quiet, spacious, comfortable and relaxing. The redesigned sidewalls and ceiling fixtures as well as the mood lighting help reduce the stress of long haul flights. Larger overhead bins also allow for more carry on baggage, allowing for more flexibility for travel options.
With a common type-rating with the A350 family, pilots, flight attendants, maintenance crews and ground crews can switch between the types with ease.
As a whole, the A330 family has accumulated over 1700 orders from over 120 customers. 1400 are flying worldwide and will continue to do so. The A330neo is intended to carry on the A330s success and provide customers with a cost effective and efficient replacement for older aircraft.
The following infographic gives a basic rundown on the aircraft:
