First A330neo starts its final assembly
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 centre fuselage at station 40.
As the newest member of the A330 wide-body family the A330neo builds on the A330 Family’s heritage and is set 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 state-of-the-art aerodynamics, incorporating latest-generation Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, and the new AirSpace by Airbus cabin for the latest experience in cabin comfort.
“We have started with a very tight development schedule and are today right on time,” says Odile Jubécourt, Airbus Head of the A330neo programme. “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.”
So far, 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 entire A330 fleet, which has won over 1,600 orders to date.