First Airbus A330-800 successfully operated the first flight (Photo / Video)
The new A330-800 successfully operated the first flight. It was operated on 6 November 2018. A330-800 is the smallest member of the A330neo family, but with the largest autonomy.
On 6 November 2018, the new Airbus A330-800 MSN1888 took off for the first time. The aircraft successfully operated the first flight, with commander François Barre and co-pilot Malcom Ridley on hand.
Engineers for the test flights were not missing: Ludovic Girard, Catherine Schneider and Jose Angel Corugedo Bermejo. The flight duration was 4 hours and 4 minutes. He took off at 10: 31 and landed at Toulouse around 14: 35.
Airbus A330-800 successfully operated the first flight
The test schedule of the new A330-800 will cover approximately 300 flight hours, and certification will be done in 2019. Big brother, A330-900, completed the testing period and obtained the type certification.
Airbus A330-800 is the second member of the A330neo family and the youngest. He joins his older brother, A330-900. The latter will shortly enter the commercial service with TAP Air Portugal.
Airbus A330-800 and Airbus A330-900 are similar in proportion to 99%, maybe just the fuselage length makes the difference between them. They are built around new technologies, some taken from the A350 XWB. A330neo and A350 XWB have common classification, which facilitates the transition of pilots from one model to another.
Depending on the carrying capacity, A330-800 can carry up to 257 passengers in a configuration with 3 classes, while A330-900 has a carrying capacity of 287 passengers in a standard configuration with 3 classes.
The propulsion of the new A330neo airplanes is provided by the Roll-Royce Trent 7000 engines. The new A330-800 has flight range up to 15100 kilometers, allowing non-stop flights between Southeast Asia and Europe, as well as trans-Pacific flights between Southeast Asia and the West Coast of the United States.
At the end of September, Airbus had orders for 224 of A330neo aircraft from 14 customers. Soon, new orders will be registered by Airbus.