Airbus has flown its new A330neo to Kuala Lumpur for the first time, as part of the final phase of test flights leading to the certification of its latest mid-size widebody airliner.
The aircraft, an A330-900 painted in the livery of launch operator TAP Air Portugal, arrived at KLIA after a 12-hour non-stop flight from Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France. It will be based here until Saturday to undertake route proving flights around the region, designed to demonstrate to aviation authorities its compatibility with airports and readiness for airline operations.
During the global route proving exercise the A330neo is operating three multi-sector trips from Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, covering 15 major airports worldwide. In total the aircraft will complete 150 flight test hours during the trials, including 55 hours in Asia. Kuala Lumpur was selected as the base for the aircraft during the Asian segment of the trials as it is home to the world’s largest A330neo customer – AirAsia X. Altogether, the airline has ordered 66 A330-900s, for delivery from 2020.
While based at KLIA the A330neo will undertake regional rotations to Manila, Jakarta, Bangkok and Hong Kong, before heading onwards to Mauritius and back to Toulouse. At Kuala Lumpur the aircraft will be checked for compatibility at both KLIA 1 and KLIA 2.
The A330neo is the latest version of the best-selling twin aisle A330 Family and is available in two versions, with the A330-800 seating around 250 passengers in three classes and up to 400 in an all Economy layout, and the larger A330-900 offering accommodation for around 300 in three classes or up to 440 in a high density single class configuration.
The A330neo has been designed to operate efficiently both on regional and long-haul flights, with an extended range capability of 7,250 nautical miles for the A330-900 and over 8,000 nautical miles for the A330-800. This enables both versions to operate direct services with full payload from South East Asia to Europe, including from Kuala Lumpur to London non-stop.
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