The A330-900 has received its Type Certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The aircraft is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines. The Type Certificate was signed by EASA's Certification Director, Trevor Woods, and handed over by EASA's Head of Large Aeroplanes Certification, Ludovic Aron, to Airbus' Head of Engineering for Commercial Aircraft, Jean-Brice Dumont. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification is expected to follow shortly.

"The A330neo embodies Airbus' spirit of innovation. This new generation aircraft with unparalleled efficiency and flexibility from short to long haul routes has tremendous market potential," said Guillaume Faury, President Airbus Commercial Aircraft. "We look forward to delivering the first aircraft equipped with the beautiful new Airspace cabin to our launch customer TAP Air Portugal in the coming weeks."

In agreement with TAP Air Portugal, its first built aircraft served as a demonstrator for route proving around the world visiting more than 12 countries. Together with the two A330-900 flight test aircraft, the certification flight test campaign was successfully completed in around 1,400 flight test hours in under a year since the first flight on 19th October 2017.

The A330neo is a true new-generation family comprising the A330-900 and its smaller sibling, the A330-800, which will make its first flight in the coming weeks. The A330-900 in particular is the lowest seat-mile cost 300-seater which incorporates highly efficient Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, a new 3D-optimised wing and new sharklets with use of lighter composite materials. Together, these advances bring a significant reduction in fuel consumption of 25 per cent compared with older generation aircraft of similar size.

Passengers can expect the highest levels of comfort when flying on the A330neo, with the aircraft featuring the award-winning Airspace by Airbus cabin with newly designed sidewalls and fixtures, larger overhead storage, advanced cabin mood lighting and the latest in-flight entertainment and connectivity.

Operationally, the A330neo shares a common pilot type-rating with the larger A350 XWB, which facilitates minimum flight training cost and maximum pilot productivity. Maintenance personnel will also benefit from the aircraft's new Skywise data connectivity features which will help them to predict potential issues before they arise, thus ensuring maximum productivity of the aircraft in revenue service.

The A330 is one of the most popular widebody families ever, having received over 1,700 orders from 120 customers. More than 1,400 A330s are flying with over 120 operators worldwide. The A330neo is the latest addition to the leading Airbus widebody family, which also includes the A350 XWB and the A380, all featuring unmatched space and comfort combined with unprecedented efficiency levels and unrivalled range capability.

Contributed by Airbus