Aircalin has become the second airline to fly the Airbus A330neo to Australia after using its new A330-900 F-ONEO on the Noumea-Sydney route on August 16.
Airbus says its A330-900 widebody has received regulatory approval to operate up to 285 minutes from a suitable landing field. The extended twin engine aircraft operations (ETOPS) certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) means the A330-900 can be flown on a route that keeps it within four hours and 45 minutes flying time
TAP Portugal has become the first airline to take delivery of an A330neo after accepting A330-900 at Airbus' Toulouse headquarters.
Airbus has begun flight tests of the second member of the A330neo family, with the A330-800 completing its maiden flight in Toulouse on November 6.
Airbus’s A330neo certification program has entered the home straight with the start of a world tour for route proving tests. The aircraft that will fly to 15 cities across five continents while accumulating 150 flight test hours is MSN1819, which is the first A330-900 production aircraft and features the colours of launch customer TAP Portugal.
