The Airbus A330-300 is the original passenger airliner in the Airbus A330 twin-engine widebody family. It entered service in 1994 and offered a twin-aisle cabin for medium- and long-haul passenger routes. The shorter A330-200 followed in 1998.[1]
Design and capacity
The A330-300 has a fuselage approximately 63.7 metres long and a wingspan of 60.30 metres. Its 5.64-metre external fuselage width accommodates two passenger aisles. Airbus lists a maximum of 440 passengers, although a representative three-class cabin carries substantially fewer, about 250 to 290 in the manufacturer's product table.[2]
The lower hold can accept standard LD3 containers. Airbus publishes a maximum of 33 positions, or a mixed arrangement using pallets and containers. These positions carry passenger baggage as well as freight, making the aircraft useful where passenger services also generate cargo revenue.[2]
Development and improvements
Airbus progressively changed the A330-300 through higher weight standards, airframe refinements and systems updates. Its product information describes weight reductions, revised cabin equipment and navigation improvements. The later 242-tonne configuration extended the aircraft's range relative to earlier versions, so a single A330-300 label covers different operating capabilities.[2]
Singapore Airlines introduced the A330-300 in January 2009. The manufacturer's account of its relationship with the airline places that introduction between Singapore Airlines' first A380 services in 2007 and its first A350 delivery in 2016.[3]
Relationship to the A330-900
The A330-900 preserves the longer A330 passenger-fuselage format while introducing the A330neo's Trent 7000 engines, revised wing aerodynamics and Airspace cabin. Airbus's account of the family's 1,500th delivery identifies the A330-900 as the larger neo version and records its airline-service introduction with TAP in November 2018.[4]