251-tonne Airbus A330neo makes its first flight

Benefitting from a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) increase to 251 tonnes, the Airbus A330neo offers a 650nm boost in range – or 6 tonnes more payload – compared to the A330neo’s current 242-tonne version.

Taking to the skies for the first time Feb. 28, 2020, from Toulouse, France, the 251-tonne A330-900 is suitable for longer trans-Pacific or Asia-Europe routes. The A330-900, the longer-fuselage A330neo version, seats 260-300 passengers in a typical three-class cabin configuration. (The shorter-fuselage A330-800 accommodates 220-260 passengers in a three-class cabin.)

The increased take-off weight A330-900 is expected to be certified by airworthiness authorities mid-2020, followed in 2021 by the A330-800 variant.

Airbus has retained 99% spares commonality for these A330neo versions, with their MTOW increases achieved through a combination of weight-neutral reinforcements and landing gear adaptations.

Modifications to the nose and main landing gear also enabled Airbus engineers to extend their time-before-overhaul (TBO), prolonging the previous 10-year interval to 12 years, offering significant maintenance savings.