First Airbus A330neo starts final assembly in Toulouse

Toulouse, France – Airbus has commenced the final assembly of its first A330neo, an A330-900, at its final assembly line in Toulouse with the joining of the wings to the center fuselage at station 40.

As the newest member of the A330 wide-body family, the A330neo is expected to reduce fuel consumption by a further 14% per seat. Both the A330-800 and A330-900 feature a new A350-inspired wing with Sharklet wingtip devices for aerodynamics, incorporating latest-generation Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, and the new AirSpace by Airbus cabin.

“We have started with a very tight development schedule and are today right on time,” says Odile Jubécourt, Airbus head of the A330neo program. “I am happy to say we are in good shape to meet the high standards of maturity and reliability our customers expect from us and I want to thank the teams for this outstanding achievement.”

Thanks to its low, new generation fuel-burn, the A330neo expands its operators’ market opportunities by offering an additional 400nm range, leading to a 6,550nm range on the A330-900 and 7,500nm on the A330-800. To date, 10 customers have ordered a total of 186 A330neo.

The A330-800 and the A330-900 are 99% common, sharing a 95% commonality across the A330 fleet.

The A330 mid-size wide-body aircraft has more than 1,600 orders to date, with more than 1,250 aircraft flying with 120+ airlines worldwide on a wide range of routes, from domestic and regional flights to long range intercontinental services.

Source: Airbus