Earlier last year, the government of Uganda signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus to have two A330-800 planes delivered this year.
The Airbus A330neo (“neo” for “New Engine Option”) is a wide-body jet airliner developed by Airbus and an upgrade from the Airbus A330 (now A330ceo – “Current Engine Option”).
Airbus launched the A330neo program promising 14% better fuel economy per seat at the 2014 Farnborough International Airshow. However, the A330neo is more than an old plane with a new engine. The Airbus A330neo program is the mid-range offering in the Airbus fleet, following the A320 series and before the A350 series.
The major upgrades in the A330 include the new engines and other minor enhancement for the aircraft’s efficiency and a few cabin improvements (better lighting and overhead bins). It exclusively uses the larger high-power Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engine.
The Airbus A330series has two variants: A330-800neo and A330-900neo. The -800 has a range of 8,150 nmi (15,090 km) with a passenger capacity of 257 while the -900 covers 7,200 nmi (13,330 km) with 287 passenger capacity.
The final construction of the A330-800 began in November 2017 and the aircraft later made its maiden flight on 6 November 2018 for four hours and four-minute and received EASA type certification on 13 February 2020; the first two -800s were delivered to Kuwait Airways on 29 October 2020.
However, the A330 aircraft upgrade does not include many features present in today’s new clean sheet designs like the Boeing 787 or Airbus A350; such as, bigger windows, better pressurization, wider space, etc.
With this known, one could wonder why the A330neo program exists if there are better aircraft? The answer is simple: Because it is cheap.
Juxtaposed with a brand-new Boeing 787, the A330neo can be bought for around 50% of the price. Airbus does list it at around the same price (near $300 million USD per aircraft) as the Dreamliner, but as the development costs were significantly cheaper ($2 billion USD vs $36 billion USD for the Airbus A330neo and Boeing 787 programs respectively) they can undercut Boeing.
Construction
Major structures of the A330-800neo entered into production in October 2017. Installation of high-lift devices on the wing was done in Bremen, Germany while building of fuselage sections were done in Hamburg.
The center wing box that carries the structure of the wing was done in Nantes, France and titanium engine pylons that holds the heavy engine in Toulouse. Sharklet wingtips were from Korea.
A330-800neo Orders and Deliveries
Kuwait Airways signed a Purchase Agreement with Airbus for eight A330-800neo to aid the ambition of the carrier to enhance its enlarging long-haul network. On October 15 2018, the order was placed.
On April 5 2019, Uganda Airlines, the flag carrier of Uganda placed an order of 2 A330-800neo for their medium and long-haul routes.
In 2020, Air Greenland, the flag carrier airline of Greenland, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus for the purchase of A330-800neo. The new aircraft is going to replace the current A330-200 of the airline.
Additionally, there are 4 unidentified orders for the A330-800neo.
A330-800neo Design
The A330-800neo maintained the 58.82-meter fuselage length of the A330-200, but can accommodate six more passengers with an advanced cabin that has 18-inch wide seats for economy configuration. It has an exterior height of 17.39 meters and a fuselage diameter of 5.64 meters. It has a wheelbase of 22.18 meters.
Other enhancements include increased 64-meter wingspan with A350 XWB-inspired winglets, new engine pylons and new composite sharklets. The new version is also equipped with enhanced upper ventral fairing and wing twist for adjusting lift distribution along the wing.
The A330-800neo is designed for distance as it can land at smaller runways. It was chosen by Air Greenland because of its advantage in short runway requirements.
A330-800neo Cabin
The cabin of A330-800neo presents the Airspace Cabin design that won a Best Product Launch award and was unveiled in 2016. The cabin has the newest fourth-generation In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) that features a fiber-optic backbone, hardwired for high bandwidth and Ultra High Definition (UHD) with 3D capable screens for passengers. It also has the updated in cabin management tools such as the Flight Attendant Panel (FAP) and Galley Inserts.
The toilets are designed in Space-Flex for more effective use of the rear cabin volume. It features the Person with Reduced Mobility (PRM) lavatories that helps to transfer the passenger from the wheelchair to the toilet seat through a tip-up seat mounted inside the lavatory. It also offers the Smart-Lav configuration, a new optimized lavatory design that provides more usable cabin length.
The cabin is the quietest in its category and has the newest Light-Emitting Diode (LED) lighting technology. It is also equipped with a unique welcome area for the passengers.
The A330-800neo has a cabin length of 45 meters and a width of 5.26 meters.
A330-800neo Engine and Performance
Crafted specifically for the A330neo, the aircraft is driven by two latest-generation Rolls-Royce Trent 7000-72 turbofan engines with a maximum thrust of 72,834 pounds each. It has a small, high pressure-ratio core and a fully swept wide-chord fan technology that gives it a 10% fuel consumption enhancement.
The aircraft has a maximum range of 8,150 nautical miles and has a fuel capacity of 36,740 US Gal. It can fly up to 41,450 feet and has a maximum cruise speed of 496 knots.
Why the A330-800 is not selling
For the A330neo version, the A330-800 is not selling at all. Six aircraft are on order for Hawaiian Airlines while 211 are ordered for the A330-900. This has been attributed to a number of reasons;
Well as the A330-800 flies longer and with lower fuel burn than the A330-900, the differences are not large compared to related aircraft and also fuel costs are no longer a dominating cost in the overall cost picture.
Looking at other costs, the types are too similar. The A330-800 doesn’t have any scale advantages over the A330-900; only range, and the A330-900 is flying longer and longer.
This could explain why most buyers have left out the A330-800 in demand for other aircraft
But why the A330-800
Adding to the cheap price of the aircraft, one of the most vivid advantages the A30-800 aircraft has is that it can land at smaller runways. In fact, it has one of the shortest runway requirements out of all the new generation aircraft (A350, 787, A330neo, 777X) and thus the best fit for smaller airlines at smaller airports.
Summary
Manufacturer: Airbus
Country of Origin: France
Manufactured: 2015 to: Present
ICAO: A338
Price: US$259.9 million (2018)
Engine: 2x Rolls-Royce Trent 7000-72Turbofan
Power: 72,834 horsepower
Max Cruise Speed: 496 knots (919 Km/h)
Travel range: 8,150 Nautical Miles (15,094 Kilometers)
Service Ceiling: 41,450 feet
Take Off Distance: 2770 metre – 9,087.82 feet
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